A Shadowed Tide
by Thrones of War
Summary: Tigress's mind is in turmoil after successfully returning from defeating Lord Shen at Gongmen City. But when a mysterious stranger arrives at the Jade Palace, can she identify the source of her distraction? Or will she fall prey to the greatest threat the team has ever faced?
1. A mysterious figure

Hi all! I've been writing for years now, but this is the first time I've posted something where others can see it. Also the first time I've written a fanfiction so I hope I've managed to do this justice.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda or any related characters. However, Traveller is MINE.

* * *

Po's eyes narrowed, his fists flexing in concentration as he stared at his opponent. He shifted the balance of his legs, feeling the rim of the inverted turtleshell roll with his movements. This would require his utmost concentration.

He let one fist swing forwards in a punch, giving a loud "Hi-ya!" as he did so. His opponent deflected the punch with one wing, grabbing the shell tightly with his talons as the sudden shifting of balance bounced it around like a leaf in the wind. Po's eyes widened as he realized his mistake, and desperately tried to keep his balance, which was getting trickier by the second.

His foe, sensing an opportunity, lashed out with a long, spindly leg, moving around the edge of the shell as he did so. Thinking fast, Po dove to the side, grabbing the rim with his paws and hoisting himself into a handstand facing away from the bowl. His opponent chuckled as the bowl tilted awkwardly, slowly lowering the panda towards the ground.

"Right, because that position's sooo much better than your other one. Didn't think that one through, did ya?"

"Yeah… not so much." Po conceded, his arms all but shaking under his own weight. He could hear the other master's footsteps as he cautiously made his way around the shell, getting within striking distance.

 _Alright, genius, how does the Dragon Warrior get himself out of this one?_ Po mentally berated himself.

Then, an idea struck him. He began to swing himself back and forth, using his weight to send the shell rocking violently, as if in a storm at sea. The other master was no longer advancing, and Po was fairly sure he knew where he was. He gave one more powerful swing and catapulted himself through the air, spinning like a drill as he sped feet-first towards his target.

"Skadoo-"

But he had rocked the shell too hard, and the other end rose quicker than he had anticipated, so instead of smashing into a feathery body, he instead hit the jade shell with almost bone-crunching force, a deep reverberating noise emanating from the sudden impact. The force of the blow knocked him forward, so he ended flat on his face against the wall of the shell in a spread-eagle position.

"Ow…"

There was a flapping sound from behind as Crane flew to the other side of the shell and steadied it, then looked down at the panda.

"Nice move, you almost had me."

"I hate fighting on the shell." Po grumbled, attempting to sit up.

"Really? I would have thought it would fit your Panda style perfectly!"

Po tried to reply to Crane's sarcasm, but he suddenly felt three meals make a daring escape for freedom, so he instead covered his mouth with a queasy look on his face while attempting to glare at his tormenter.

Apparently, the glare didn't do the trick, since Crane merely chuckled at the panda's plight before extending a talon to his comrade.

"Need a hand up?"

Pulling himself together, Po grabbed the talon, and his friend pulled him up out of the shell, and dropped him to the floor below.

The landing was… less graceful than Po would have liked. He landed on his ample hindquarters, one leg bending beneath him, causing the panda to stub his toe on the wooden planks of the training hall. He let out a cry of pain and grabbed his foot, nursing it.

Crane landed beside him, and looked down at the hapless panda, grinning slightly.

Po slowly clambered to his feet, and took a look around the training hall. Viper was still dodging gouts of fire, and both Monkey and Mantis were competing on the spiked rings hanging from the ceiling, each trying to outdo the other in both speed and agility. The only one missing was…

"Hey, Crane, where's Tigress?"

His avian friend looked around, then shrugged, his face totally deadpan as he answered,

"I dunno. Maybe she got tired of training?"

They stared at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing.

* * *

Soft grass brushed beneath Tigress as she attempted to meditate. She was sitting just behind the Jade palace, not too far from the stairs leading up to the dining hall. The outside world was full of distractions, from the cool afternoon breeze to the sound of crickets chirping nearby. After decades of practice, none of these hindered her search for tranquility. But even so, despite her attempts to calm her mind, she was unable to grasp the peace that she knew was there.

In fact, she'd been having difficulty finding it since they had returned from Gongmen city nearly a month ago now. Despite all of her efforts at focus and concentration, her inner turmoil had overpowered them all.

 _Chains wrapped tight around her, preventing any sort of movement as she and the rest of the Five hung several feet above the deck. Wolves patrolled the boat below them._

 _"We cannot give up hope." Monkey spoke up. "Po would want us to remain strong. Hard-core. Right, Tigress?"_

 _He was looking to her for leadership. She could feel his eyes on her, but she couldn't move. Couldn't say anything. The moment Po had been shot out of Shen's factory, she felt as if someone had torn out a part of her soul. She had only stood there as Shen's forces had surrounded and captured them._

 _And now here they were, floating down the river where Shen would execute them and begin his conquest of China. Part of her knew she should be fighting. She should feel angry that her friend was gone, should use that anger to fight back. But all she felt was… emptiness._

 _She did not answer. She **could** not answer. She could neither fight nor bring herself to lead. It was all she could do to keep tears from streaming down her face._

 _At the sound of the roar of cannons, the tiger opened her eyes and watched in horror as a bridge that had stood in the way of the fleet shattered around them, civilians barely making it off of it in time. She mustered every ounce of energy within her, and called back at Shen,_

 _"You coward!"_

 _But the peacock merely smiled, and Tigress felt that momentary anger fade away once more under the force of their utter defeat._

 _And then…_

 _She looked up, her eyes widening as she saw a figure on a distant rooftop. He stood there, wearing a bamboo hat and… the same pants Po did._

 _Was it a ghost? A vision?_

 _"Po?"_

 _The others looked up as well, and their own startled utterances of their panda friend's_ _name confirmed that she was not the only one seeing this, and it was if someone had lit a fire within her as feeling crashed into her spirit once more. From the ashes of her despair it was like… resurrection._

 _If any doubts remained to the tiger master, they were erased at Po's unique rescue attempt. As the panda hit the boat, she could not help the smile forming on her face. A wave of joy washed through her as the panda approached and-_

Tigress shook her head, letting out a small growl as she did so. This was **not** helping. Ever since they had returned and recovered from their ordeal, her feelings had been knotted up in ways she could not describe. Whenever she saw Po now she wasn't sure whether to punch him or…

Or…

With a snarl she stood up. It was obvious she would get nowhere meditating today. As she began to walk towards the gates of the Jade Palace, she considered once more speaking with Shifu about her problem. Her training was suffering because of her inner turmoil and it was only getting harder to focus. Perhaps he would have some insight that eluded her.

As she reluctantly resolved to speak with her master, she happened to take a look down the thousand steps. Halfway up was a figure swathed in a hooded cloak, the black fabric almost brushing the steps as he walked up towards the palace.

Tigress's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Meanwhile the hooded figure had stopped for a moment, rummaging around in his cloak.. As he did so, for a brief second she caught a dull glint from beneath the fabric. A weapon perhaps? It was gone before she could tell for sure, but she resolved to speak with the others, and let them know about their visitor… and potential intruder.

* * *

By the time the figure reached the top of the stairs, the Furious Five and Shifu were waiting for him. Po came shuffling over, a face full of food, just as the dark figure stood before the Kung-fu masters.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Po asked around a mouthful of dumplings. Tigress glared at him, and he seemed to shrink slightly, swallowing and pressing his fingertips together nervously. It was only then that he noticed the hooded figure.

It was slightly shorter than Tigress, and she saw the glint of blue eyes in the depths of the hood. The cloak was open slightly at the front, revealing some kind of close-fitting breastplate that gleamed dully in the afternoon light. So far, he had said nothing.

Master Shifu gave a slight bow, though he never took his eyes off the figure.

"We welcome you to the Jade palace. Who-"

He was cut short as Po interjected with what he probably thought was a whisper in Monkey's direction,

"Why is he wearing that huge black cloak in the middle of summer? It's roasting out here!"

Shifu shot the panda a chilling glare and Po winced.

"Sorry."

Shifu turned back to the figure, who had still said nothing nor made any move. Tigress glared at him, subtly shifting closer to a combat stance. There was something odd going on here.

Before her master could speak again, the figure raised his hands to his hood. Tigress saw that they were much the same as Monkey's, though furless and with longer fingers. He pulled the hood back.

Tigress's eyes widened in shock, and there was a faint gasp coming from the other masters. The figure's face was smooth save for a single white scar running across a hooked nose. Hiis skin a light shade of pink, and furless apart from a thick patch of wiry fur atop his head that did not reach down farther than the tops of his rounded, fleshy ears. But the most startling feature of this strange figure were the eyes.

They were _old_. They were eyes that had seen many battles and atrocities. But there was also a familiar glint within them, a glint she had not seen since Oogway. Eyes that had seen the beauty of the universe and watched stars burn.

"Greetings, masters of the Jade Palace." The figure said, giving a slight smile as he bowed respectfully. "I am Traveller." Though he spoke quietly, his voice carried easily and they had no trouble hearing him.

Tigress heard Po whisper to Monkey, "I've never seen one of those before."

It seemed Traveller heard as well.

"I would not think so. I am of the Eldar… and I am far from home." He gave a pleased little sigh. "It is rare indeed that I find a place where I am not mistaken to be Human."

"Hu-what now?" Mantis asked.

"Human. Their kind are… physically very similar to my own."

"What do you want?" Tigress asked bluntly, more than a little annoyed at how easily her comrades were getting off topic.

"Tigress!" Master Shifu snapped. "My apologies… Traveller. Tigress should know better than to speak so to a guest."

Tigress lowered her head in shame, her amber eyes studying the ground as she cursed herself for letting Shifu down.

The Eldar waved a hand dismissively. "It is of no concern, Master Shifu. It takes more than that to offend me. Not to mention that she raises a valid point. Honoring though it is to visit the Jade Palace, I did not come for- yes what is it?"

Po was hopping up and down with his hand raised in the air like a schoolchild. Upon Traveller's acknowledgement, he dropped his hand and asked.

"So is Traveller like your actual name? Cause let me tell ya, you must have had some pretty weird parents to get a name like that, or is this like some Eldamawhozit's thing? Like they name you after stuff or-"

The cloaked man raised a hand, silencing the over-excited panda.

"It is simply who I am."

"Well, that certainly clears that up."

The Eldar fixed Po with his gaze for a few moments, and the further questions the panda was trying to ask died on the tip of his tongue. Then he re-focused on the other masters.

"I came here to deliver a warning, and to lend my aid, if you would accept it."

"What kind of warning?" Crane asked suspiciously.

"The kind that warns you."

Tigress had had a sudden flashback to old conversations with master Oogway, and was surprised at how much this man reminded her of the ancient master.

Shifu had begun to speak again.

"What is it?"

Traveller's face became grave, then he said,

"Before I tell you, I want to demonstrate exactly how serious the situation is. With your permission Master Shifu, I would like to spar with your students."

Shifu gave a small, pride-filled smile before answering.

"Very well, who would you like to spar with first?"

"All of them."

Tigress smiled to herself. She was more than happy to have something to keep her mind off her problems. And she'd been itching to hit something all day.

Startled, Shifu's ears went straight up, then he gave a nod, his grin widening in anticipation.

"Very well. Come in, there's a sparring arena just inside this gate."


	2. Dark Tidings

Thanks to everyone who left a review, favorite or follow! The idea that people are reading and enjoying my work makes this so much more satisfying for me. Also inspires me to keep pushing out content, which is hopefully good news for you guys! This story will update on mondays, for those that are interested.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda or any related characters. However, Traveller, Zarach and the Skaal are MINE.

* * *

Tigress stood at one end of the square arena, one arm forward and the other raised above her head in a battle stance. Po stood beside her, and the rest of the Five had fanned out in a V formation behind them.

Traveller stood across from them, his hands folded into his sleeves. He had thrown the hood up again, everything above his mouth was veiled in shadow.

"Po and I will attack him from the front." The tiger said quietly to the others. "Viper, you and Mantis circle around and take him from the left. Monkey and Crane, you have the right."

The others nodded in affirmation, though there was a hesitant look in Viper's eyes. Tigress looked to her left, and saw Shifu standing on the raised dais, his huge eyebrows furrowed as he gazed over the arena. She would not let him down again.

Re-focussing her attention on her opponent, a slight chill of foreboding swept down her spine. He remained still, seemingly awaiting their move. She was unsure why this unnerved her, but she pushed the uncertainty away and growled, then leapt forwards. Po ran fast beside her while the others fanned out, circling around to flank their hooded foe.

"Fist of Justice!" Po cried out as they got within striking distance, his paw already stretched outwards towards Traveller. Tigress gathered herself, then pounced into the air, extending one leg into a kick. Side-by-side they came hurtling towards the still-unmoving Eldar.

A split-second before they hit him, however, he fell backwards, ducking past their assault at a breathtaking speed. One foot lashed out from the ground position, smacking into Po's shin and sending him stumbling over their opponent's prone body.

With nothing to impact upon, Tigress flew over her target and barely managed to get her legs positioned to land gracefully just outside the square of the arena. The panda, of course, had a less fortunate landing, sliding on his chin to halt mere inches from Tigress's foot. They shared a quick, surprised glance before the tiger master turned, and saw Traveller rise. The rest of the Five were assaulting him from both sides, though Monkey and Crane were slightly ahead of the others.

This time, instead of waiting on the defensive, the Eldar took the initiative. He lashed out with a roundhouse kick at Monkey, moving with incredible speed. The master barely deflected the attack, while Crane struck at Traveller from above. Their foe grabbed Crane's leg even as his own attack was being deflected by Monkey. He brought up his other leg in a sudden kick, catching Monkey off-guard and sending him staggering back. Using this momentum he pulled Crane down hard, deflecting Viper's attack and knocking the snake to the ground. The snake had launched herself through the air to strike Traveller, but now she was coughing in the dust.

Tigress was now facing Traveller's back, and she charged at him going down on all fours to build up speed while behind her Po was groaning and attempting to rise. She let out a loud cry and leapt towards Traveller from behind. This time, he held his ground. He whirled to face her and in seconds they were locked in a deadly fist-fight.

They seemed evenly matched; in a few seconds of blurring speed, neither was able to get a hit in on the other.

Then Traveller changed the game. In one swift motion he grabbed Tigress by the forearms and pulled her towards him, their foreheads meeting in the middle. Tigress was momentarily stunned, more by the unexpected move then the actual impact, but that was more than enough of an opening for Traveller to exploit. A swift kick to the knee, followed by a strike with the heel of his palm to her midriff and a roundhouse kick knocked Tigress to the ground with the wind knocked out of her.

As she tried to regain her breath, she cast about for the others. Po, Monkey, Viper and Crane were all regrouping at one end of the arena, but Mantis was…

Attacking Traveller, apparently. The Eldar was reacting to blows she could not see, flailing around the arena in a desperate attempt to get away from his foe. Mantis must have made it in under Traveller's cloak, making it near-impossible for him to retaliate as the tiny insect attacked him mercilessly. Tigress slowly got to her feet, holding her side as she watched Traveller flail about under the impact of Mantis's attacks. She motioned to the others to attack all at once.

 _This is our chance. I'm not about to let it go to waste._

Suddenly, in a single seamless movement, Traveller removed the cloak, bunching it up at one end. Apparently, that was the part that Mantis was in; because it started spasming violently as the insect master attempted to break free. Before he could do so however, Traveller gave him a heavy kick that sent both cloak and insect flying into the walls of the palace.

Traveller then turned to face Tigress again, sun filtering through the brown hair atop his head. The chestpiece they had seen before was now revealed to cover both his front and back with no apparent clasps holding it together, much like a kind of carapace. His sandaled feet swayed slightly in the dusty earth, the dust kicked up from the motion settling on dark brown trousers to form an intricate tapestry of light and dark.

Tigress charged forward again, seeing Crane begin to spin himself like a drill as he powered towards Traveller from the back. Traveller was not idle, however. He ran at Tigress seemingly oblivious to the avian master who was fast gaining behind him. Tigress put her paws together for a dual-fist strike as Traveller approached her, and lashed out the moment he was in striking range.

Apparently, Traveller was ready for her attack, and the momentum from his headlong charge was suddenly diverted into a sudden cartwheel, carrying him out of the way to the left. Neither Crane nor Tigress was so fortunate, though. Without Traveller to block their respective attacks, both masters hit each other with full force, Crane hitting Tigress just below the throat while suffering Tigress's attack straight to one shoulder. There was a popping sound as Tigress hit Crane, and the avian cried out in pain. The force of the blows catapulted both masters backwards, and Tigress's second landing was decidedly less graceful than her first.

Tigress lifted herself on her elbows to witness the fighting. Po was currently charging towards Traveller, who was focussing his attention on the panda while Viper and Monkey flanked him. The two masters were already in mid-air, Viper manipulating her body into a kicking motion and Monkey with one leg raised in an axe kick before Traveller made his move.

He leapt into the air and cartwheeled again. Despite the sheer ridiculousness of the move, it was surprisingly effective. He spun fast enough that one fist caught Monkey's paw, knocking him down to earth while a fist and a foot each found their way into Viper's body, shooting her sky-high. Before Monkey hit the ground, he wrapped his tail around Traveller's arm, pulling him down while rocketing himself up to attempt his own attack once more.

Traveller hit the ground, looking up just in time to see Po's mighty fist flying towards him. Acting quickly, Traveller grabbed Po's forearm with one hand, pulling him forward while the other arm grasped at the fur on Po's chest. The combination of the panda's own weight and momentum, as well as Traveller's leverage, pulled the panda into the air, not even touching the Eldar with his attack. Before he hit the ground, Traveller unleashed a kick that sent a sonic boom through the palace, enough to throw the descending Monkey off balance. The master landed in a crumpled heap beside the Eldar. The force of the kick itself sent Po flying up into the air.

That was it. **No one** was going to beat Po except for her. Tigress let out an outraged roar and raced towards Traveller on all fours. She was only a few feet away from him and beginning to rise to two legs when a massive weight suddenly hit her from above, sending her to a prone position in less than a second. Po had finally landed.

Traveller stood in the centre of the ring, surrounded by the beaten masters. He turned, and bowed to Shifu who was standing on the dais with his mouth open. Finally regaining his composure, the red panda sputtered,

"How… how did you do that?"

"Kung fu is not the only martial art that exists, Master Shifu."

Even as they spoke, Tigress was struggling to remove the weight of the panda off her.

"Get… Off… Me!"

"Oh! Sorry Tigress!" The panda apologized, removing himself and reaching down a hand to help Tigress up. She disdained it, rising and glaring at him. Her glare held no fear for him now, it seemed, as he began waving his hands in the air.

"That… was so totally awesome!" He shouted, Traveller turning towards the panda while he fanboyed. "Did you see that? We were all like Hyaaaah! And he was all like 'Oh no you don't.' And that kick! Ohohoho I wanna learn how to do that! You, sir," He finished, pointing a finger at Traveller, "Are severely cool."

Traveller seemed taken aback for a moment, then he smiled and bowed to the Dragon Warrior.

"I am glad to have made such an… impact on you, Dragon Warrior."

"Hah. Funny."

The rest of the Five were standing now, warily approaching the stranger in their midst. None of them seemed badly hurt, barring Crane who held his right wing close to his chest.

"Here, let me help you with that." Monkey offered Crane. The master nodded, and Monkey flipped up into the air, landing behind Crane.

"Right. On three… Three!"

Crane gave a slightly muffled grunt as Monkey popped the joint in his wing back into place.

"Why is it always me who gets hit?" Crane complained. "Viper never gets bones dislocated."

Viper gave Crane an incredulous "are you serious" look, causing the avian to wilt slightly.

Shifu hopped down from the dais and stood before Traveller, his bushy eyebrows drawn together.

"You are an impressive fighter, Traveller. But I fail to see how beating my students demonstrates your point."

Before Traveller could reply, there was a loud gurgle from Po's belly, drawing the attention of the others. He gave a sheepish smile and said,

"Uh, hate to interrupt your little moment here, but experiencing this much awesomeness at once really gives you an appetite. Why don't we, uh, talk up at the dining hall? I can, ah, make some food…"

"That's not a bad idea, if your master has no objections." Traveller replied, though his face was an unreadable mask. "It may be better for me to relay the information inside anyway."

"Very well." Shifu acquiesced. "But no more interruptions. I want to know exactly what brought you here, Traveller."

"Agreed."

* * *

Up at the dinner hall, Po was making the final preparations for his noodle soup. The rest of the Five as well as Master Shifu were seated at the table, while Traveller stood close to the open doorway, leaning slightly against the wall. Under normal circumstances, the Kung fu masters would be joking or at least talking amongst themselves. But the atmosphere was heavy, and as Po served out the soup, Traveller began to speak.

"As I'm sure you all are aware, my kind is not native to this area. I come from lands far beyond the furthest reaches of China. Before I came here, I spent many years fighting against a dark empire that threatened to swallow the world."

"And so you came to us." Po interjected, "The most awesomely bodacious group of all time to help you overthrow this brutal tyrant and bring him to justice!" The panda's voice had gotten progressively louder as he spoke, and by the time he was finished he had raised a victory fist in the air and struck a heroic pose.

"Po, _sit down_." Shifu snapped.

"Yes master Shifu." Po replied dejectedly, dropping his pose and seating himself across from the older master. There was slight chuckling from Monkey, who quickly covered his mouth to muffle the sound.

"Thank you. Traveller, if you would?"

Traveller inclined his head slightly and resumed his tale.

"After many years of fighting, I and the allies I had found managed to overthrow this dark empire and destroy their hold on the land. However, their leader, as well as several of his people managed to escape. They disappeared and we were unable to follow them.

"It was total whimsy that led me to China, and I had not planned to stay long. But one night I came across their camp."

He looked around the room, meeting the eyes of the other occupants and relaying the seriousness of the situation through his gaze.

"King Zarach and perhaps three hundred Skaal warriors. And they are headed to the Valley of Peace."

Shifu stood on his chair, slamming his hands on the table.

"Here? Why here?"

Traveller shook his head.

"I'm not sure. I was unable to overhear much more from their camp for fear of being spotted, and I know little of the area. It may be nothing more than Zarach's idea of a cruel joke, beginning a new conquest in the Valley of Peace. But I do know this. They are coming, and at their current rate of travel they will arrive here in three days."

Crane spoke up.

"This, Zarach you mentioned, he's the leader?"

"Yes. He's the same one who led the Skiyr Empire. Of all his kind, he is the greatest. Cunning, brutal, merciless and powerful. And… he is my match."

"Uh, like your match like your mate or-"

Traveller slammed a fist into the table, breaking off Po's rambling.

"He is my match as in my equal, in power and in skill. When we fight, it is the toss of a coin that decides the victor. Do you understand?"

Though still portraying her emotionless outer shell, Tigress felt the icy claws of fear grasp around her heart. Traveller had beaten all of them in combat, seemingly with ease. The idea of a foe with the same level of skill...

There was silence around the table, so Traveller took a deep breath, then continued.

"It has been some time since their defeat. I believe that Zarach is looking to begin a new Empire here. He must be stopped. The amount of pain and suffering that creature has caused is unfathomable."

"So, what are they?" Mantis asked, scratching his chin with one claw. "Rhinos? Crocs?"

"I will show you."

Traveller took a step forward, away from the wall he had been leaning against, and raised a hand. There was a brief flash and the Kung fu masters shielded their eyes from the sudden light. When they re-focused, there was a monster in the middle of the room.

The creature stood as tall as Po at the chest, a long serpentine neck extending from it's torso to end in an almost perfectly spherical head. Large, sickly yellow eyes, slitted like a cat's glared with a deep malice above an overlarge mouth. Even with the creatures jaw firmly shut, razor-like teeth protruded from it's maw at strange angles. Atop the creatures head were three curved bone spikes, each attached with a strange webbing like frogskin, but with a leathery texture.

Spines similar to the ones on it's head appeared on the bottom of the midnight-furred abomination's forearms, as well as the back of their legs near the heel. Massive, heavy-set claws extended from the end of each wide finger, the point of one claw nearly touching the table the masters sat at. It's arms were long, each almost brushing the floor on which the creature stood, balancing on it's misshapen feet with it's cat-like tail.

It stood, frozen, one arm raised as if reaching for them while the other hung limply at it's side.

Immediately upon viewing the beast, Tigress knocked over the table, unmindful of the bowls she sent flying as she did so, intent only on putting up a barrier between them and the creature before them. The rest of the masters took cover with her, and she slowly peeked over the table to see Traveller giving a slight grin with his hand still extended in the air. The creature still had not moved.

"There is no need to fear." Their guest intoned, wiping the smirk off his face. He lowered his hand and the creature vanished. "My kind are able to project images of our memories. It saves me having to explain them to you."

"You could have given us a warning first." Shifu grumbled, looking down at the fresh soup-stains on his robe. "Tigress, would you put the table back?"

"Yes, master." Tigress replied, feeling suddenly foolish for her rash action. While she returned the table to it's original position, the other masters gathered around Traveller.

"Okay, so, like, is there a legal limit to coolness? Cause you may be close to breaking it, Travel-dude."

"The Dragon Warrior is easily excited, yes?" Traveller asked Shifu quietly while Po continued to rant.

"You have no idea."

"So that was Zarach?" Crane asked, cutting off Po's monologue

"No, that was one of the other Skaal. They all look much the same, though Zarach himself is larger than the rest, with a pattern of scars around his head that make it look as though he is wearing a jagged crown. In battle, he carries a large curved sword." He took a step back. "He and his kind are dangerous, ruthless and cunning. They will not hesitate to kill you or the villagers under your protection."

"He'll have to go through us first!" Viper hissed fiercely.

Traveller gave a little half-smile that didn't reach his eyes. For a brief moment, the Eldar seemed to change, grief wracking his features as he became old and bent, and Tigress could almost see a sudden weight descending onto his shoulders. By the time she blinked the sudden vision was gone, though the grief in Traveller's face remained.

"There is one other thing." He said heavily. "But I must speak with Shifu, Tigress and Viper. Alone."

The two women in the group looked to Shifu, who hesitated for a moment then nodded.

"Very well, Traveller. The rest of you have earned the remainder of the day off."

Normally this would be a cause for at least mild celebration, but those left behind could not help a rising feeling of dread as they watched their friends walk away.

* * *

Traveller shut the doors to the Hall of Warriors behind them. Then he leaned upon said doors for a moment, seeming to be gathering his thoughts.

Tigress was getting more and more apprehensive. She didn't know if this was a trap or not, but she had an uneasy feeling about the whole situation. And still she was unable to focus, her concentration constantly being thrown off by one thing or another. She tensed as she felt a pressure on her arm, but relaxed when she saw it was only Viper, looking up at the tiger warrior with concern. Tigress attempted a smile to reassure her friend, but didn't quite manage it.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Traveller turned towards them.

"Battling the Skaal holds many dangers. But the greatest danger is to you Tigress, and you Viper."

Tiger and snake gave each other apprehensive looks.

"Shifu, as the master of this place, I thought it best that you were informed of the danger here."

"What danger?" Shifu asked harshly.

"The Skaal are savage and brutal creatures, and they revel in suffering and mayhem. When we fight them, you must ensure that you are never captured by them. The Skaal will not kill women if they can help it. They have developed several techniques for subduing them instead, bringing them back to their camp." He shuddered in revulsion. "Whenever we broke the Skaal lines, intending to rescue their prisoners, there was never anything left to rescue. All we ever found was the dead… and the broken."

"Is it that bad?" Viper asked nervously when there was no response from the other two.

"No. It is worse." Traveller took a step closer to them, his eyes burning with intensity. "There are no words in language that accurately portray the horror within a Skaal camp. If you are taken there, death will quickly be the only mercy left to you."

Tigress barely heard the sudden argument that broke out between her master and Traveller. Between what Traveller had told them, and the sheer conviction with which he spoke, she became completely numb, her eyes wide with horror. She could barely breathe, let alone move.

They had fought many things before, even long before Po had arrived, but this… it seemed they were to go to battle against walking nightmares. Despite everything in her that wanted to believe Traveller was lying to them, she couldn't do it.

She felt smooth, dry scales as Viper coiled her tail around the tiger's leg, and looked down to see the same horror and revulsion she felt reflected in her gentle friend's eyes. She reached down and picked up the snake, allowing her to wrap around her striped arm. Then she saw Traveller turn away from Shifu, a sympathetic look in his eyes.

"Go, I must still speak with your master."

They could not leave the hall fast enough.

* * *

Po and Crane were idly playing a game of Mahjong just outside the Hall of Warriors. Their minds weren't actually focused on the game, of course. They wanted to know what was going on in there, but so far had been unable to make out anything said within.

Crane placed a talon on a tile and was about to knock it over when the door burst open. Both the players stood quickly, knocking over the already-forgotten tiles in their rush to be the first to greet their friends, but their internally-prepared speeches died long before they had a chance to escape their lips.

Po had never seen such raw, unbridled emotion on Tigress's face. Tigress was a warrior, one of the strongest martial artists he had ever met. She was never scared. Or, at least that's what he had believed. The twisted, horrified expression that was perfectly matched in both her face and Viper's was so great, that neither Crane nor Po could say anything as the two others hurtled past, seemingly desperate to be away from the hall.

Finally, Po came enough to his senses to call out and begin to run towards the two women.

"Tigress! What-"

"No."

Po whirled around at Shifu's voice to see his master and Traveller both walking out from the hall. Shifu was leaning more heavily on Oogway's staff than usual, and Traveller seemed to have aged a few decades since they had last seen him.

"They need time alone. Leave them be."

"What happened in there?" Crane asked as both Shifu and Traveller set off in a different direction than Tigress and Viper had taken.

Traveler said softly, so low that they could barely hear,

"The truth."

As they walked away, leaving Crane and the Dragon Warrior standing alone amidst the Mahjong tiles, Crane muttered,

"I haven't seen Tigress like that since…"

"Since when?" Po questioned, reeling at the implication that this was not the first time Tigress had been so distraught.

"Since the attack on Shen's factory, when you got shot out of the building."


	3. Right after I have a snack

Well, I certainly didn't expect so many people to have come across my little story so quickly. I figured it's take way longer for people to even notice it, let alone send me positive feedback. so, thanks for joining me on this little adventure, and trust me, there's quite a bit more to come.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda or any associated characters. However, Traveller, Zarach and the Skaal are **mine**.

* * *

As the sun set behind the distant mountains, Po finally worked up the courage to approach Tigress. Both the tiger master and Viper had disappeared after their conversation with Traveller, only recently returning. Neither of them had spoken to anyone since they had come back.

Tigress had been meditating a fair distance from the Jade palace for some time now, the cool waves of a small pond lapping dangerously close to her feet in the slight breeze. Po paced back and forth nervously, mentally preparing himself before cautiously approaching the tiger.

Other than the occasional lash of her tail, Tigress did not move. Nor did she show any signs that she heard him approach.

"So, uh Ti…"

"Not now, Po."

Po flinched slightly at the sound of her voice. It wasn't angry like he had been preparing himself to expect, instead she sounded exhausted and… sad. She had not turned, remaining in her cross-legged position. Po couldn't help himself; he had to keep going.

"What happened in there?" he asked quietly. He was now close enough to the tiger that he could reach out and touch her, and he was seriously debating doing just that.

Tigress made no reply except to curl her tail around her feet.

"Come on, Tigress! You've been avoiding me ever since we got back from stopping Shen. I just want to help you here."

Tigress stiffened, then replied in a low voice dangerously close to a growl.

"Now is not the time, panda."

Po sat down beside her, and tried to crane his neck so he could look into the tiger's eyes. Unfortunately, they were closed, and his friend still did not even turn towards him.

"Look, when I was having problems back in Gongmen city, you wouldn't stop until I told you what was going on. I'm not gonna stop either."

Tigress seemed to relax slightly, though she still did not open her eyes. Then Po added,

"I want to help. You're my friend."

Tigress's eyes snapped open, whipping her head around and glaring at Po causing the panda to roll backwards in fear.

"I said," Tigress growled menacingly. "Not. Now. Po!"

The tiger master had half risen already, and Po scrambled back, clumsily getting to his feet and running off towards the Jade Palace. Tigress opened and clenched her fists a few times, breathing in and out slowly until she had settled down. She sat on the grass again, returning to her former position.

 _Why did that set me off?_

* * *

"I just said I was her friend, why did that set her off?" Po wondered aloud to himself, ambling around the outer wall of the palace. "It's gotta have something to do with that Traveller guy. It looks like he really got to her." The Panda's eyes narrowed and he tapped his fists together. "Well, I'm gonna find Traveller and get some answers from him."

There was a sudden, insistent growl from his stomach and Po sighed.

"Right after I have a snack."

* * *

Tigress once again attempted to return to her meditations, but it was even more difficult than it had been before. Wave after wave of thoughts and emotions crashed into her, shattering what little focus she had managed to acquire.

Despite this, she continued attempting to meditate, focussing every ounce of energy she had into dispelling her thoughts and calming her mind.

Then she heard voices. It sounded like Shifu and Traveller, coming opposite the direction that Po had left in. They were speaking quietly, but they soon came close enough that Tigress was able to hear them regardless.

"-about the Imperial army? We could send word to the Emperor…"

"It's a good idea, but one we cannot rely on. I admit I know nothing of the strength of the Chinese armies, but I know the strength of the Skaal. I find it unlikely that your forces would be able to do more than slow Zarach down. Besides, could they reach here before the Skaal do? If they come, all the better. But we must act as though they were not."

"We must evacuate the valley, then. We cannot let the villagers come to harm."

"I agree, but we must do so sensibly."

"What did you have in mind?"

"There are many geese in the valley, yes? They can easily fly away, perhaps with some of the artifacts you were talking about earlier? And they can bring messages to your Emperor to get reinforcements."

"A good idea. And we'll send the others out to the nearest military base-"

"No."

"No? What do you mean, no?"

"Those blessed with flight are one thing. But a huge trail of refugees? They'll travel slowly. Easy prey for Zarach's forces."

"But if they're coming here-"

"Zarach will undoubtedly have scouts. If he finds the villagers, he'll want to know why they are evacuating. And your people will not survive the encounter."

"Then we will go with them and protect them."

"There are eight of us. We cannot be everywhere at once, and Ziringol's forces will greatly outnumber ours. We cannot guarantee their safety."

"We can't just do nothing!"

"We will not. We can evacuate the village into the Jade Palace."

"Into the… I see. Yes, that could work."

"Far easier to defend than a line of stragglers, wouldn't you agree?"

"Indeed. You certainly seem to know what you're doing."

"It is not the first time I've had to evacuate a village from some threat. And it will likely not be the last."

There was a pause in the conversation. Then Shifu said,

"Very well. I will have my students begin evacuating the valley first thing in the morning. Traveler… Thank you for coming."

"Do not thank me yet. We still have a long way to go ere this threat is over."

Tigress had been listening to the whole conversation with half an ear, but as silence reigned again she finally gave up on her meditations. She opened her eyes and looked to the heavens at the mass of stars that had appeared as the day's light died. She leaned backwards, supporting herself by putting her arms behind her, paws sinking slightly into the soft earth.

There was the soft sound of footsteps on the grass, and though outwardly she appeared still and emotionless, inwardly she was silently begging that the steps continue onwards.

Apparently the universe wasn't in the mood to listen to her tonight, as the light footfalls stopped just out of arm's reach and there was a soft sigh as Traveller settled his weight onto the grass. Tigress did not turn her head, but let out a warning growl which the other ignored. A quick glance revealed that he was not looking at her, he was simply staring up into the night sky just as she was.

They sat there for a several moments, during which Tigress became increasingly agitated. Had it been anyone else, she would have sent them scurrying with one of her "Death Glares" as Po called them, but she decided it would just be a waste of her time.

Finally he spoke.

"You know, I'd almost forgotten how much I missed the stars."

Tigress said nothing, startled by this odd topic. The Eldar continued, his head still not turning towards the Tiger master.

"The last place I was there were no stars. Outside on a night like this, no matter how clear the sky, no matter how dark the night, you would never find a single light in the heavens. Tell me, what do you see when you look at the stars?"

"Constellations." She replied shortly, but felt the agitation that had built up slowly fade away despite her pseudo-hostile reply. Traveller let out a slight chuckle at her evasiveness.

"When I see the stars, I see hope. Tiny candles sparkling across the void. Against such immeasurable darkness they should seem insignificant. Yet each light diminishes the darkness until the void becomes their backdrop. For those pinpricks of light, the darkness accentuates them, rather than destroys them."

Tigress's left ear flicked in surprise.

"That is an… interesting way of seeing it, Master Traveller."

"Master?" Traveller began laughing, and finally Tigress looked at him. His eyes were shut and he held his sides as he laughed even harder, though it was a quiet and soft laugh, not unlike the sound of wind rustling in the grass.

The tiger master's eyes narrowed and she unconsciously unsheathed her claws. Her companion's mirth eventually settled, and he wiped a tear from his eye, only then noticing Tigress's outraged features. Still smiling, he raised his hands in a placating gesture.

"I am no master. You earned your title, you have dedicated your life, your heart and your soul to the ways and teachings of Kung fu. I learned the techniques, the fighting styles from various masters of their craft. But I follow my own path."

Still seated, he turned so he was facing Tigress, then placed his fist into his open palm and gave a slight bow. "Master Tigress."

Tigress's outrage turned to confusion and her claws slid back into their silken sheaths. "I…I do not understand."

Traveller sighed, then looked about for a moment, finally selecting a smooth, well-polished stone from the grass. He held it up where Tigress could see it.

"Look at it like this. To me, martial arts are a means to an end. A tool."

He dug a small hole in the ground with the rock while Tigress looked on.

"And as a tool I can use it as such. To build…"

He took the rock and smashed it onto a stick lying between him and the tiger, snapping it.

"Or to destroy."

He took the rock in his other hand.

"While to you, and your companions, it is a way of life. It is a path, but also the destination. A means of seeking perfection. It means something to you. You believe in it, and as such…"

He threw the rock into the pond. It skimmed over the surface, not even touching the water, and when it did it skipped across the water's surface four times, and on the fourth skip it landed softly in the grass of the other side.

"It rewards you with things that I can only dream of. I do not understand the mysteries of Chi, nor the power of meditation. Perhaps were I to truly cast my burdens aside and focus all of my energy into understanding I could. Perhaps I will even try some day."

His face grew serious as he looked into the amber eyes of the tiger.

"Many titles have I, but do not call me by ones I have not earned."

Tigress could only nod, seriously re-evaluating her opinion of the man. Perhaps it was simply her inner turmoil, but she had difficulty getting a read on the man.

Traveller stood, and gave Tigress a slight smile.

"Rest well, Master Tigress. There will be much to do come the morn."

And he turned and walked in the vague direction of the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, his black cloak swishing through the grass as he walked, leaving Tigress alone by the pool.

* * *

"Come on, where is he?" Po grumbled around a mouthful of dumplings. While his raid of the larder had been a complete success, his search for Traveller had proven far less so. He'd been wandering around the Jade Palace for nearly a quarter of an hour with no luck.

"You'd think the guy in the black cloak would be more noticeable…" Po continued to mutter, extending the current self-conversation he had going.

He'd been avoiding the pool where Tigress was meditating, but now he approached it warily, hoping to find his own quarry and not an irate tiger. Fortunately for him, Tigress was nowhere to be found upon his arrival. Unfortunately, neither was the Eldar.

"She must have gone to bed already. Come on Po, think! Where would we find Traveller now?"

Po narrowed his eyes in concentration, rubbing his large head with his paws attempting to find a solution to his problem.

"Aha!" He exclaimed, suddenly brightening. "The peach tree! That's really high up, maybe I'll be able to see him from there!"

He began a light jog in the direction of the tree, hoping to finish his task soon. He was tired already and yearned for his small bed.

As he found his way to the path towards the sacred peach tree and began to ascend it, he began to hear voices coming from from the tree. He couldn't quite hear what they were saying, so he slowed his pace and tried to move more quietly, straining his ears in an attempt to catch the conversation.

It was Traveller's voice that he first recognized. The other speaker's voice sounded female, warm and inviting though it had a slight rasp to it. The two were speaking quietly, so Po was nearly at the top of the hill by the time he could make out what they were saying. So he crouched low to the ground and listened in.

"-And now they've come here." There was a deep sigh from Traveller. "Usually I get more of a respite between fights with that bastard."

"You didn't come across them on purpose?" The woman questioned.

"No. Their method of travelling is untraceable. And believe me, I've tried. This was supposed to be just a rest stop, to take some time and enjoy the scenery. Now..."

"You push yourself too hard, Traveller." The woman said gently.

There was silence for a moment, then Traveller spoke again, his voice weary.

"Perhaps. I had to describe the Skaal to the people I'm with now and… there are women here."

"Oh… oh, love…"

Po's ears perked up at this.

He must be talking about Tigress and Viper! Maybe he'll… hold on, love?

The panda cautiously attempted to sneak up the path, peering his head over the hill-rise in an attempt to see who Traveller was speaking with.

The man was standing next to the peach tree, his back to Po. The black cloak he wore fluttered in the same wind which ruffled the hair on his unhooded head. There was a bright blue light emanating in front of him and Po caught a glimpse of a ghostly figure standing before Traveller.

He couldn't make out much, between the slight shifting glow and Traveller blocking most of her body, but she was short, coming up only to just under Traveller's chest. Though she was short, she was stocky and well-built, making her nearly as wide as she was tall. She had the same kind of strange hair that Traveller did atop his head, though her's was longer, reaching down to her shoulders. The same hair covered her chin, protruding ever so slightly from the skin beneath it. Other than that, she appeared to be much the same as Traveller himself, which made sense he supposed. Po was more interested in how it seemed that the woman was a spirit.

 _Can Traveller talk to dead people too?_ he wondered, momentarily forgetting his anger at the man in a fanboy-induced attack. _I wonder if he can teach me any of these things. That would be so awesome!_

The two had been silent for a few moments, then finally Traveller spoke up again.

"I think… I think that when this is over, providing I survive, I will come home."

The ghostly woman seemed to perk up at this.

"Really?"

Traveller nodded.

"It has been too long since I came home and… I want to see our son grow up. Too often I miss out on such things with all the work I must do."

"Will you stay?"

"For a few decades at least. There is so much to be done but… I cannot allow myself to burn out. Besides, you two are the reason I fight. It is good to remind myself of that."

It looked like the woman was about to speak, but then a third, much younger voice spoke up instead.

"Dada?"

A second ghostly image appeared next to the woman, this one much shorter than the other two, not coming up even to Traveller's waist. He was obviously a child, and Po felt a sudden rush of warmth upon seeing the little one. He adored children, and though this one was far different than any other he had seen, it did not change the feeling.

"Hello, little one." Traveller said, the weariness gone from his voice.

"Dada!" The child squealed, attempting to run towards Traveller, but he was held back by his mother.

"Look, don't touch." the woman laughed. "He's not all the way home yet."

"Ohhhh." The child said, his brows furrowing in concentration as he studied his father. Then his face cleared.

"So he's a dream?"

"I am the best dream." Traveller chuckled. "And I have a surprise for you."

The child squealed in delight, bouncing up and down excitedly.

Traveller leaned down close and said in a loud stage whisper,

"I'm coming home soon."

If his child had seemed excited before, it paled in comparison to the joy that spread to his small face.

"You will?"

"Absolutely. So just hang on in there for a bit longer, my little Ransom."

The child beamed happily up at his father, then began rummaging around in his dirty tunic. The other two looked on as he finally found his prize and held up a small object towards Traveller.

"Look look look!"

Traveller bent down to examine the proffered item.

"It's a little shield. Did you… did you make this?"

Ransom bobbed his head up and down vigorously, a huge grin plastered on his face. Traveller straightened and looked back down at the woman.

"You've been taking him to the forge already?"

"You've been gone for quite some time." She replied quietly.

"I suppose I have." Traveller stood in silence for a moment, while Ransom kept switching his gaze between the two parents, a puzzled look on his face.

"I will return soon." Traveller said firmly. "As soon as this business with the Skaal is done. But for now, I should get some rest. There is much to do come the morn."

"Aww, but Dada…" The little one whined, reaching up for his father who smiled at him.

"Now now little one, I'm sure you should be off to bed yourself. The faster you get to sleep, the sooner I will return."

His attention distracted, Ransom turned and ran, squealing with delight as he did so. He only took two paces before he disappeared.

"Goodbye love. Be home soon."

"I will."

Then the woman faded away as well, leaving him alone by the Sacred Peach Tree.

Po sat there on the steps completely flabbergasted. Of all the things he had expected when confronting Traveller, nothing like this had ever crossed his mind. So shocked was he, that he did not even notice that Traveller had turned around until he was looking down at him.

"How long have you been here?" Traveller asked quietly, and there was a slight edge to his voice.

"Who me? Not long, I mean, I was just kinda… wandering… around…"

Po's voice trailed off under the ancient eyes of the Eldar. Then he sighed.

"Alright, I've been here for a while. I was coming to talk to you but you were.. busy."

"I see."

They stood there for a few moments, the panda squirming slightly under Traveller's gaze. Finally he blurted out,

"What was going on over there?"

"I have the power to connect to those I develop a bond with over long distances." Traveller explained smoothly. "Though where I come from, it's rude to listen in to _private_ conversations."

Po scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Yeah… sorry about that." Then he looked Traveller in the eyes, or tried to at least. He couldn't maintain the connection for too long. "Can you teach me to do that?"

Traveller quirked an eyebrow.

"Ignoring the fact that I'm not happy about your eavesdropping, I am afraid that it's not something I can teach. It is a part of who I am."

"Like your memory thing?"

Traveller nodded.

"You Eldar guys get a lot of cool stuff."

"There was something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Po started.

"Oh right! You really upset Tigress earlier. What happened in the Hall of Warriors?"

Traveller was silent for a moment, as Po crossed his arms with what he hoped was a stern expression on his face. Finally he said,

"That is something you should ask her."

"Yeah, I did that already. She doesn't usually talk to people about this kind of stuff."

There was an ever so slightly bitter and regretful tone in Po's voice, but if Traveller picked up on it, he didn't say so.

"If she wishes you to know what I told her, she will tell you. It is her decision, not mine. You should respect that."

"Oh come on! I've never seen Tigress as… as shaken as when she ran out of that hall! How am I supposed to help her if no one tells me anything?"

"You seem to care for her a lot." Traveller noticed.

"Well… well yeah. Of course! I mean, she's my best friend, and seeing her like that just…"

Traveller raised a hand, interrupting Po's semi-panicked rambling.

"I understand. Believe me when I say I had no desire to cause your… friend any distress. I merely told them of the dangers that they will face from the Skaal. Beyond that, I cannot say."

Po stared at Traveller for a moment, then deflated.

"Alright, I won't push it. You don't seem like a terrible person."

"Not everyone would agree with you." Traveller's eyes hardened. "If you truly want to help Tigress, kill every Skaal you see.


	4. Opinions

I do not own Kung Fu Panda or any associated characters. However, Traveller, Zarach and the Skaal are **mine**.

* * *

After breakfast the following morning, Shifu called the others together, balancing atop Oogway's staff.

"We have a long task ahead of us today, so we must move swiftly. All of you must go down to the village and bring them to the palace."

"Bring them here?" Viper asked incredulously. "Shouldn't we send them out of the valley like we did with Tai Lung?"

"Tai Lung was just one man." Shifu said firmly. "And his goal was singular. We cannot risk harm coming to the villagers if the Skiyr divert from their path."

Viper accepted the explanation with a nod and allowed Shifu to continue.

"Send all the geese here first. Crane and I will oversee the removal of our sacred artifacts-"

"You're sending the artifacts away?" Po cried out. "Those are some of the greatest kung fu relics in all of China! How-"

"And if we fail here, Ziringol and his Skiyr will have them." Traveller said calmly, walking into the room. "Tell me, how much destruction could those artifacts cause were they turned on your people?"

Po fell silent, though it was obvious he was still unhappy.

Shifu continued, furrowing his brows at the constant interruptions.

"When we are finished here, Crane will guide the avians out of the valley. They will bring messages to the Emperor, as well as other masters I know personally. Zeng has been writing letters all night. With luck, they will arrive in time to aid us."

Shifu looked around at his students for a moment, his gaze softening.

"I am proud of you all. Go. Do what must be done."

The Five and Po bowed to their master, then headed to the stairs, Crane staying behind as his master had ordered.

"Well, I guess we're heading to the village!" Po grinned, walking alongside his companions. "This shouldn't be too hard. I mean, we've faced down bandits and armies before, all we gotta do now is bring these guys up to the palace!"

"Yes, Po, thank you for telling us the exact same thing Shifu just said." Mantis grumbled.

"I don't know that it'll be that easy." Monkey chuckled. "You have to convince your father to leave his noodle shop."

Upon hearing this, Po stopped in his tracks, his expression twisting into a horrified grimace.

"Oh."

* * *

"What do you mean, you won't go?!"

The diners at Dragon Warrior Noodles and Tofu turned at the sound of Po's shout. Feeling suddenly embarrassed, the Dragon Warrior hunched over his dad and made an effort to keep quiet.

"Can we talk about this in the kitchen?"

Mr Ping nodded, and the two of them made their way through the startled customers and into the tiny kitchen. Po remained hunched over since, in here, his neck grazed the ceiling.

Mr. Ping walked to the far end of the kitchen, then turned towards the panda, folding his wings and lowering his eyelids as he did so.

"I believe my statement is self-explanatory." he said in a slightly accusing tone.

"Come on dad, there's a lot of danger coming this way. I can't be here to protect you all the time."

"Why not? You're the Dragon Warrior, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah-"

"Besides, leave my precious noodles to those villains? Never!"

Po put his face in his hands, slowly dragging them down until he was looking at the goose once again.

"Why are you being so stubborn? You were willing to leave when Tai Lung attacked."

"That was different." Ping said, pulling out a knife and beginning to chop up a leek.

"How?"

"Everyone else was leaving too!" He finished chopping up the leek into thin slices, the goose stabbed the knife into the counter and turned to face his son again. "Look son, I appreciate the gesture. But where are the ones who can't fly going, hmm?"

"We're evacuating everyone up to the Jade palace."

"Ah, and there's your problem!" Mr. Ping cackled with delight, rubbing his wings together in anticipation. "Without me there, who's going to feed everyone huh? Mrs. Wang and her "double or nothing" bean buns? Shin and his apple cart?"

Po looked at his father in astonishment.

"You want to stay behind to make noodles for everyone?"

"Sell noodles to everyone." Mr Ping corrected. "Flying across China doesn't bring in the money!"

Po gave his adopted father a completely flabbergasted look then waved his paws in the air.

"Okay, okay. We'll bring your stuff up to the Jade Palace then."

Mr. Ping gave his son a radiant smile.

"I knew you'd see it my way!"

* * *

Tigress leaned against a wall, staring off into the distance. She'd been running up and down the thousand steps for nearly an hour now, helping bring the villagers up to the Palace or bringing their belongings. Traveller had made an appearance briefly, telling the others that it would be best to bring everything that they could up to the palace. He didn't seem to think they'd be able to hold the village for very long against the Skaal attacks.

After that, he'd disappeared, and Tigress had been too busy to go looking for him. Although, she wasn't sure she'd want to even if she could.

"Hey, over here!"

She turned, looking towards the rooftops where the voice had come from. Monkey was sitting on the roof of a nearby building and gesturing for her to come over.

"Tigress! Mantis and I have been trying to get this big chest out of some older lady's house. I don't know how it got up on the second floor in the first place, but we can't fit it through the doorway. We're going to try to lower it out through the window. Could you catch it from the outside?"

"Alright, I'm coming." Tigress replied, following her fellow master at a slight jog as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop. Finally, they arrived at a larger house, with Mantis standing in one of the upper windows.

"Did you find her?" He called out to Monkey.

"Of course I did! There's nothing I can't find!" Monkey replied proudly.

"Other than your almond cookies." Mantis chuckled before jumping back into the house.

"Hey! Not cool man!" Monkey yelled, leaping into the air and flying through the window as Tigress slowed to a halt just under it. Then the brown-furred head of the other master poked out from the large window, looking down at the tiger below.

"Alright, you stay there, we're going to get this thing ready. Keep an eye out for when we start pushing it out."

"Very well." Tigress confirmed, and Monkey pulled his head back into the house at the affirmation. There was some shifting noises, then the sounds of arguing from inside the house as Mantis and Monkey both disagreed on how they should move the weighty chest.

Tigress waited there in the street for a moment, the villagers around her mostly ignoring her as they packed up their various items and began their own treks to the Palace. There was a hint of fear in the air, and those among the villagers who spoke at all did so only in hushed tones.

It was because of this that Tigress first noticed the sound of laughter from down the street. She took another quick look at the window above her and, seeing no apparent progress, she let her curiosity get the better of her and made her way down the street in search of the laughter.

She had not gone more than a few steps when she saw a plaza nearby with a water fountain in the middle of it. Po was standing there with several young bunnies and pigs playing around him. The panda seemed comfortable, more so than she had seen in a long time.

"Alright, kiddies." The panda called out, oblivious to Tigress's presence. "Today, we're going to give you the grand tour of the Jade Palace!"

There was an awed gasp from the group who instantly stopped their activities and ran to the panda, encircling him.

"That's where you train, right?" One asked, looking up at Po with awe and adoration.

"That's right." Po looked around dramatically, then gave the kids a huge wink. "Now, I'm not supposed to tell you this, but we're actually going to stay there for a few days."

"I get to sleep in the Jade Palace?" One of the pigs cried, bouncing up and down in sheer excitement.

"You got it!" Po beamed at the kids. "It's gonna be awesome! We'll get to stay up, tell stories, eat noodles..."

"Awesome!" the kids cried out, almost in perfect unison.

Tigress smiled as she watched Po continue to entertain the children. The panda had always had a way with young ones that she was almost envious of. Though she herself had become more relaxed around children since her meeting of the emperor's nephew, an event that she was grateful for since she had always had a soft spot for the younger ones. But Po… he had a natural endearment to him that children couldn't resist.

Maybe it's because he's like a big child himself. Tigress thought warmly. She wasn't sure what about the scene made her feel so peaceful but-

"Tigress! _Tigress!_ **_Tigress!_** "

Turning at the sound of her name, Tigress saw a huge chest half falling out of the window she'd been supposed to watch. She could see Monkey's arms straining at the back as the massive wooden object teetered and threatened to fall at any moment. Eyes widening, she lept into the street, pounding the dusty road on all fours as the chest succumbed to the call of gravity. It seemed to fall in slow motion, sunlight glittering off the reflective black paint coating the wood.

Just before it hit the earth, Tigress leapt through the air, knocking it to the side and allowing it to land on top of her instead of thudding into the ground. She instantly regretted the decision, as the chest was even heavier than she had anticipated and it knocked all the wind out of her as it landed on her chest, leaving her gasping for air like a fish.

"You okay down there Tigress?" Mantis called from his perch on the windowsill.

Tigress pushed the chest off of her and slowly stood, allowing herself to regain her breath before she replied.

"Yes, I'm okay." She called out, her voice a little more hoarse than usual.

"Where were you?" Monkey demanded. "We thought you were right outside the window! By the time we realized you weren't there, we'd already gotten the chest halfway through!"

Tigress stared up at the irate master, unable to reply. Fortunately, she was saved from having to do so as Crane swooped in from above, pulling the attention of the other masters away from her.

"Crane!" Mantis cried out, lifting his claws into the air. "How'd it go?"

"Well, once I managed to convince everyone that we'd reach our destination faster if they would fly on a straight course, it went well." The avian master said dryly. "They should be far enough out now to be able to avoid any attacks, and with any luck our messages will reach their targets within a day or so."

"Good work, Crane!" Monkey praised. "But we're not done yet."

"Indeed not." The voice from above startled the masters who looked up in confusion, some of them mentally preparing themselves for battle. But it was just Traveller, standing on a rooftop looking down on them.

"Crane, now that you've finished escorting the geese, I'd like you to give us a bird's eye view of the area. Zarach usually has people scouting. See if you can spot any nearby. I'd like to give him as little warning as possible as to what we're up to."

"Eh, better up there than down here." Crane replied, leaping into the air and taking flight once again.

Traveller turned his gaze to the other masters.

"We've made good time so far. But there's still a long ways to go. We want to get not only everyone out, but their things as well. Anything that you or they ever want to see again should come."

"Why are we moving all this anyway?" Monkey asked. "Why don't we just get the villagers and whatever basic things they need up to the palace? It would be much faster that way."

"Faster, yes." Traveller acknowledged. "But not necessarily better. We will not be able to hold the village, it's far too large for what fighters we have to keep it safe. By the time this is over, there may not be a village here anymore, and your people will find comfort in those things they hold dear."

"You really think it'll be that bad?" Mantis questioned.

"It could be. It could even be worse. We must be prepared for whatever the Skaal throw at us."

As Traveller climbed down from the rooftop, Tigress heard Po calling her name. Eager to be away while Monkey and Mantis were distracted, Tigress ran out towards the panda's voice.

She had not gone twenty paces before there was a sudden squeaking sound from below her. Tigress stopped short, looking down to see a terrified bunny child looking up at her. Tigress hadn't even noticed the child, and had barely missed stepping on her. She reached down and gathered her up in her arms.

"Where's your mother, little one?"

Tears welled up in the child's eyes as she sobbed,

"I don't know! Mommy said to stay with the Dragon Warrior, but then I got lost!"

Tigress's gaze softened as she looked at small tearstained face.

"Well, let's find him together then. Okay?"

"Okay." The tiny bunny sniffled. With this affirmation, Tigress returned to her previous path, going more carefully this time to avoid treading on passers-by.

Po had not called out her name again, worrying Tigress. Rounding a corner, she had to smile at seeing Po's predicament.

The Panda was lying on his stomach, in the middle of the street, with a crowd gathering around him. He was pinned down by a wardrobe, seemingly unable to get up. The bunny giggled in Tigress's arms, and Po looked up to see the two of them standing there, the small smile still on Tigress's face. He grinned sheepishly at them.

"Hey Tigress. I was just-"

"Being crushed slowly by a wardrobe?" Tigress quipped, putting the young one down and walking over to the trapped panda.

"Yeah. That."

Tigress pulled the wardrobe off the panda, slightly surprised at how heavy it actually was. She put it carefully to the side, then reached out a hand to help Po up.

Po accepted the hand gratefully and Tigress pulled him upright. The panda brushed himself off before beaming at Tigress.

"Thanks, Tigress!"

Tigress gave a small nod to the panda. Then she bent down to pick up the child who had followed her to her friend.

"She says she lost her mother. Think you can help with that?"

"Mei!" Po cried out, taking the proffered bunny and shaking a finger at her.

"You wandered off before I could take you up to the palace! Your mother's been looking all over for you!"

The little girl giggled at the scolding.

"Sorry."

"Well… It's okay. But just this once. Now, let's get you back to your mother."

* * *

Five hours passed in a blur. Crane returned not long later, apparently without sighting any Skaal scouts. Traveller did not seem particularly relieved by this news however.

Crane joined the rest of them in herding the villagers up into the Jade Palace. Most of them complied fairly quickly, trusting the masters to know what was best. There were others, however, who took a great deal of convincing to leave their homes. Traveller was especially helpful with this, though he disappeared periodically, and would not say where he went. At long last, Po called for a lunch break, something the other masters were grateful for.

Inside Mr. Ping's store, Po served the hot bowls of soup to the other masters seated at the table. They were all thankful for the break. Sometimes the hungry Panda really did come in handy with his insistence for multiple meal breaks. As Po sat down to his own serving of food, he glanced around at the other masters. They were deep into their bowls already, eating like it was their last meal. Po tapped his chopsticks together lightly before asking;

"So, hey ah, what's your take on that Traveller guy?"

His friends turned their attention to him, and it was Monkey who spoke up first.

"He's funny!"

"Funny? Really?" Po asked, thrown off by this unexpected opinion. Monkey nodded his head vigorously.

"Yeah! We were working on moving out this one house, and I cracked a joke. We spent almost an hour trading jokes after that. The one with the Rhino and the Hippo... "

Monkey trailed off, laughing to himself again.

"I probably don't want to know." Crane muttered, Viper nodding in agreement. Then the avian master spoke up.

"I was out most of the time, so I didn't see much, but he is really patient. Seriously, he sat through Mr Xiang Whow's whole story."

"Wait wait wait. " Po said, holding up his hands in front of him and shaking them vigorously. "You mean _the_ story?"

Crane nodded his head in affirmation.

"No one can make it through the whole story." Monkey called out. "He probably just figured out how to sleep with his eyes open like Tigress does."

Tigress didn't even acknowledge Monkey, concentrating on the food in front of her as she listened to the others.

"No, he was listening!" Crane insisted. "He wasn't just sitting there, he was asking questions and making observations through the whole thing. I passed by them a few times, and every time they were right there!"

"Whoa." Po couldn't think of anything else to say. Mr. Whow was a kindly old man, but he tended to go off for hours about the most minute details. Even Tigress couldn't stick to his stories the whole way through. Po looked to Mantis, who was kind of absently playing with his own noodles. The insect shrugged when he noticed the panda's attention was on him.

"I don't know, I can't really get a read on that guy. One moment he's kicking our butts and giving us dire warnings of gloom and doom. The next, he's helping an old lady cross the street, cracking jokes with Monkey or playing with the kids."

"I got the same feeling." Viper replied to her fellow master. "But there is one thing that stays constant."

"What's that?" Po sat forward, eagerly awaiting Viper's insight.

"No matter what else he does, he seems… sad. I… can't really describe it, he doesn't look sad usually, but he feels sad."

"What does sad feel like exactly?" Po asked, the conversation now way over his head. Viper gave him an exasperated stare. Po raised his hands in surrender.

"All right, all right. So he seems sad. Do you know why?"

Viper hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. Deciding he wasn't going to get anything else out of her, Po then looked eagerly to Tigress, as did the others at the table.

Noticing the sudden attention focused on her, Tigress looked up into Po's eager face. For a moment, she considered not saying anything, but decided against it and said in a quiet voice,

"He reminds me of Oogway but… older."

"Older?" Po asked incredulously. "Come on, nothing was older than that turtle!"

"No, she has a point." Viper put in. "Oogway was old, but he never seemed old, or acted old. But Traveller…"

Po scratched his head bemusedly. He considered bringing up Traveller's family, but somehow that seemed too personal. Traveller hadn't been happy that he was there in the first place, and if he found out Po was spreading the news around... well, he was in no hurry to see Traveller actually angry.

Lost in his own thoughts, he didn't notice that the group had turned their attention to him until he was prompted by Mantis.

"Well, Po? What do you think of Traveller?"

Shaken out of his reverie, Po blinked a few times before plastering a snooty look on his face and replying.

"Uhhh, yeah. He's pretty awesome himself. Nowhere near as cool as us of course, but he's got some potential."

This earned him a chuckle from the group.

"Never change, Po." Monkey smiled, pointing his spoon at the panda.

"Who, me? Nah, never."


	5. Harsh Words

Yeah, I know, it's a little early for an upload. But I'm going to be going into a situation soon, and I don't know if I'm going to have access to internet or computers for a while, so I figure it's better to try and get most, if not all of the story out before then so I don't keep you guys waiting. Therefore, I will be uploading a chapter on Thursdays as well as Mondays.

Thanks to AlienHeart1915 for the reviews. Glad to see you're still checking out my little story, and hopefully it continues as an enjoyable experience. Also, how did you manage to get a Heart of Darkness that's so polite? Mine just kinda keeps telling me to burn things...

I do not own Kung fu Panda or any associated characters. Nor do I own the little tribal quote you'll notice later on, that one belongs to F. Paul Wilson. However, Traveller, Zarach and the Skaal are **mine**.

* * *

The sun was low in the sky by the time the Furious Five completed their task. The village had been completely emptied of its occupants, as well as the majority of things that could be moved.

Po collapsed at the top of the thousand steps, gasping for breath just outside the gate to the palace. From inside, he could hear the chattering and clamouring of the villagers as they adjusted to their temporary home. His friends gathered around him, staring into the open doors of their home.

"I hope someone closed off the training hall." Crane muttered.

"And the Hall of Warriors." Monkey added.

"I think I heard Traveller talking about that." Viper spoke up. "I'm sure between him and Shifu they've made sure everything is safe." There was just the faintest hint of doubt in her voice.

Po finally regained his breath and sat up slowly. Mantis looked over sympathetically at the panda.

"Those stairs really don't agree with you do they?"

Po shook his head.

"Neither going up or down."

There was a rippling chuckle from the rest of the group. As Po stood up, Crane took a last, longing look at the palace, then began flapping his wings.

"Where are you going?" Monkey queried.

"Do any of you want to go in there? It's overcrowded as it is, and from the sounds of it, Mr Ping is setting up a noodle shop in there… again."

Po groaned at the memory of the last time they had needed to take his father in.

"You just had to bring that up again."

"Anyway, if we want any peace and quiet, we're going to need to stay out of the palace. Anyone up for sparring up by the sleeping quarters?"

"I'll come." Monkey volunteered, followed quickly by Mantis.

"Great! See you up there!" Crane called out, winging his way up while Mantis and Monkey followed on foot.

Tigress began walking towards the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom, and, after a few moments, Po followed her. Viper sensed that the two needed privacy, and she slithered off to find Shifu.

Tigress did not get all the way to the tree, instead stopping by the pool she had been favoring for meditations. She did not get the chance to begin any however, as the panda approached her.

"Are you alright, Tigress?" He asked as he neared her.

The tiger gave him a slight, forced smile.

"I'm fine, Po."

"No, you're not. Tigress, you've been distracted all day. I've never seen you like this, and it worries me."

"Well, don't." Tigress snapped irritably. "I can take care of myself."

"Can you?" Po challenged, looking the tiger right in the eye. "Remember that accident with the old lady an hour ago? If Viper hadn't been there-"

"Stop it. Just… stop it!"

"Stop what?"

"Being you!" Tigress roared.

Pain flashed in the panda's eyes as the echoes of Tigress's shout faded. He stumbled back, tears filling his eyes as he ran blindly away.

Regret instantly filled the tiger. She wanted to call out to him, but she didn't know what she could say. So instead she stood there, staring after her friend long after he had left.

* * *

Viper slithered her way over to Po. She had been speaking with Traveller and Shifu, and was reassured that all potential hazards had been dealt with. She had been on her way to join the other sparring masters, but noticed Po sitting dejectedly outside of the Jade palace, grabbing fistfuls of grass and tossing them aimlessly into the air.

"Po, what's wrong?"

The Dragon Warrior started, sitting up straight and turning to face the reptile, wearing a false grin as he did so.

"Huh? Nothing's wrong, why would anything be-"

"Po." Viper said quietly yet firmly.

Po seemed to deflate slightly and gave a little sigh as he turned back around. Viper slithered around him so she was still facing the downcast panda.

"It's just… Tigress has been avoiding me. I've been trying to just talk to her, and she keeps pushing me away. And it's only been getting worse."

Viper knew she was on dangerous ground here, so she said carefully,

"She's just worried. She's trying to focus on being the leader right now, so that we all get through this. I'm sure-"

"But that's just it!" Po interrupted. "She didn't start this just now! She's been avoiding me ever since we got back from Gongmen city! I thought she was warming up to me then, but now..."

The panda was unable to finish his sentence, and tried to subtly wipe his eyes dry without Viper noticing.

Viper was silent for a moment as she processed this. Tigress had seemed a bit more aloof than usual, or at least, more aloof than the new usual. Over the many months that Po had been here, he'd managed to play a significant part in cracking open Tigress's shell. It was a feat that the rest of the five had thought impossible, and while the tiger master would certainly never be a fluffy bunny girl, she'd certainly warmed up to the others, as well as being able to appreciate things unrelated to Kung-fu.

Finally, the snake hissed quietly,

"How about you let me talk to her. Maybe I'll find out what's going on."

Po perked up slightly at the idea.

"Really?"

Viper nodded her head firmly.

"Yes. Wait here, I'll be back soon."

* * *

Viper found the tiger master sitting cross-legged by the small pool just outside the palace. Tigress seemed to be meditating more often than she had prior to Gongmen city. She slithered up to Tigress and nudged her side gently, looking up at her friend. Tigress seemed to relax upon noticing the reptile, letting out a long breath as if she had been holding it in.

"Viper. I thought you'd be still inside the palace."

"I came looking for you." Viper said gently.

"For me?"

"What happened with Po? I haven't seen him look that dejected in a long time."

Tigress seemed to wilt ever so slightly. The change was so subtle that, had Viper not been looking for it, it would have completely passed her by.

"I… I don't-"

"Tigress, you need to stop pushing us away. We're here for you."

"There's nothing-"

"The Skaal frighten me too. But you need to take comfort in your friends instead of isolating yourself."

Tigress seemed unable to reply, simply staring mutely at the snake.

Viper coiled herself around Tigress's unresistant arm, and looked out over the valley. She remained silent for a time, before finally speaking up once again.

"Should we tell the others?"

Her voice was soft, and slightly fearful. Tigress knew instantly what she was talking about, and mentally steeled herself. She would not fail a friend again today.

"No. They have their own problems."

"Then what should we do? I'm scared, Tigress."

Viper coiled herself more tightly around the black-striped arm as she said this. Tigress met Viper's gaze and replied.

"We take them on, and we defeat them so that no one ever has to worry about them again."

Viper nodded, seemingly relieved.

"Don't worry." Tigress said firmly. "We'll all get through this together."

"Together." Viper agreed, uncoiling herself from Tigress's arm and smiling warmly at her.

"Thanks, Tigress."

Tigress managed a half-smile at the snake. She just wished she believed herself as much as Viper believed her.

* * *

Long after Viper had left, Tigress remained, much in same position she had been before, still desperately trying to meditate and control her thoughts and emotions.

 _Inner peace…_

Tigress breathed in and out slowly as she had been taught.

Inner peace…

The rustling of grass in the cool evening breeze, a cricket chirping…

Tigress growled, snapping her eyes open. She thumped a fist into the ground, shaking the earth beneath her.

 _Come on Tigress! You've been distracted all day! Even Po noticed it for heaven's sake!_ She mentally berated herself. _You'll let everyone down if you carry on like this! You're supposed to be the leader, there's no excuse for…_

"Am I interrupting something?"

Tigress's head snapped to the side, a warning growl building in her throat, but it died before it could escape. Traveller was seated next to her, in the same position he had been when they had spoken the previous night. She had not even heard him approach and self-loathing boiled up inside her once again. Had he been an enemy, she would likely be dead now.

"You've been distracted today." the Eldar stated gently.

Tigress did not respond.

"Have you spoken to anyone about what bothers you?"

The tiger master hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.

"You may find that you can solve much simply by speaking. Perhaps you should tell me your troubles."

"You?" Tigress asked incredulously. "Why would I tell a stranger what's going on before my friends?"

"Because I am safe."

Tigress snorted. "Not a word I would use to describe you, Traveller."

The Eldar chuckled.

"Nor one I often describe myself with, but it makes it no less true." Tigress was about to interject, but her companion carried on.

"I am, as you say, a stranger. I know nothing about you or your companions. You need not worry about maintaining your reputation with me as you would another, as it makes no difference to me. I will neither judge nor ridicule you for whatever troubles you. And perhaps most importantly, once this matter with the Skaal is resolved, I will be gone, one way or another. And I would be very much surprised if I ever return. No one you know will ever hear what you say to me."

Had the situation been different, Tigress would have told him, in no uncertain terms, that his advice was unwelcome. She almost did even so. But she was distracted, and she could not afford to be. So she gritted her teeth and forced the words out.

"When you told us about the Skaal… it shook me. I fear that I cannot protect Viper or the others as I should."

Traveller nodded sympathetically.

"The Skaal are vile and monstrous creatures. They have caused unimaginable destruction and chaos. No creature should revel in the suffering of another." He gazed long and hard at Tigress, then said quietly,

"But there is more that troubles you, is there not?"

Tigress's ears flattened against her head and her lips curved in a snarl. It had been difficult enough to admit, even partially her fear of their new foe. But this…

"I only wish to help you, Tigress." Traveller's words cut through her inner turmoil. "We must all be at our best if we are to survive the coming storm. Let me help you be at yours."

The tiger's shoulders slumped and she gave out a barely audible sigh.

"It's Po." She slowly began. "The last mission we were on… I thought he died. The rest of us were captured and I couldn't even resist. I didn't care enough to resist. I was weak." Tigress paused for a moment then continued.

"When I saw him standing on the rooftops, realized he was alive… life flowed back into me again. I was revived. He's so irritating but he's…"

She searched for the right words but came up with nothing, allowing her sentence to trail off. Traveller was silent for some time.

"It sounds to me like you've fallen for him."

This startled a laugh out of the tiger.

"What? Po? That's impossible. He's a panda!"

"Is that your only reason? You love someone for who, not what, they are."

"I _am not_ in love with Po!" Tigress growled, baring her fangs at the Eldar who sighed, looking up at the sky again.

"How long have you been training in Kung fu, Master Tigress?" The Eldar asked, seemingly changing the subject.

"Twenty-five years now." She answered with a hint of pride in her voice. Traveller nodded to himself.

"Do you know how I was able to defeat the Five and the Dragon Warrior fighting me at the same time?"

"You're more powerful than any of us." Tigress replied quietly, though the admission stung slightly.

Traveller smiled. "That's one way of putting it, but I don't know that it's accurate. I've simply had more time than you." He looked Tigress in the eyes as he spoke. "Each of us use our natural abilities to influence our style. You use strength, Monkey agility, Mantis his size, Po his weight, Crane his flight and Viper her body. I do the same, but my advantage is _time_." He paused for a moment before saying in a near-whisper, "I have lived for nearly two hundred thousand years now."

Tigress's ears stood up straight and she stared back at the Eldar open-mouthed. She tried to deny his claim, but she was once again struck by his eyes. They were ancient. With those eyes and the skills he had already shown her…

 _Oogway's ghost, I really believe him._

"Where you have spent years and decades learning your art, I have spent centuries. My kind are all but immortal, and I like to think I have used my time well. But in all those years I have lived in constant danger. There have been many battles like the one that looms on the horizon, many times where I believed I was going to die. I have learned to seize life with both hands and not let a day go by where I have wasted the time that I have."

A far-away look entered the Eldar's eyes as he continued, oblivious to the snicking sound as Tigress realized that her jaw had still been hanging open, and closed it sharply.

"I met my wife on a battlefield."

"Wait, you're married?"

The Eldar smiled.

"I am indeed. It's not everyday I find someone willing to put up with an old Eldar, but we… connected in a way that I cannot describe. We were wed the day before we were to besiege our enemy's fortress." He lost the look in his eyes and returned his attention to Tigress, his face serious.

"That night, I fought by her side, and I fought harder than I ever had before. With the joy of our union, and the feeling of her at my side… I would have done anything to keep that alive. When the Skaal come, I will be fighting for the privilege to hold my son in my arms once again. To embrace my wife, and to come to a home that is _ours_. In all of my time, I have never found anything more deadly than a man… or woman… with something to lose."

Tigress narrowed her eyes as she realized what he was insinuating.

"You really like circular conversations don't you?"

Traveller smiled.

"Wheels within wheels, Bendreth."

"What?"

"Just an old tribal proverb."

Tigress rubbed her face in her paws, then slowly lifted her head to gaze out over the horizon.

"Even if you're right about how I feel about Po, it doesn't matter. He doesn't see me like that."

Traveller let out a startled laugh at her statement and Tigress shot a glare at the black cloaked ancient beside her.

"Tigress, if Po doesn't feel the same way about you, I'll eat Crane's hat."

Tigress's glare turned into an incredulous stare at this bizzare statement, once again caught off guard by his strange turns of phrase.

"You will not be able focus properly until this matter is resolved, one way or another." Traveller said quietly.

The tiger's head lowered slightly. She wondered if he was right. It had never occurred to her that her feelings for the Dragon Warrior might run deeper than friendship. She had never been so close to anyone before, and Po had an endearing yet annoying way of breaking down barriers even when he did not mean to.

"And what if you're wrong?" She said quietly, hugging her knees to her chest in a surprisingly vulnerable gesture. "If I talk to him about this… and he turns me down… how will that be any better than how I am now?"

"The reason you're so distracted now is the because the outcome is unknown. If I am correct, and I've shown you what you are feeling, then you may find yourself more focussed than you were before already, if only slightly. Even should he turn you down, this mess will be behind you and you will be able to recover. Nothing has happened yet, and thus anything could happen."

He smiled.

"Plus you'll have the added bonus of watching me fend off an angry Crane as I devour his hat."

"But the weakness-"

"Is only matched by the strength that flows through you as you fight by his side."

Tigress glared at him.

"It sounds to me like you only care about me being focused for the fight, and nothing else."

"Yeah, you figured me out." Traveller replied sarcastically, waving his arms dramatically. "Why, just before I came over here I got Crane and Viper to confess their undying love for each other to better practice their techniques in combat."

The mental image of the sarcastic Crane and compassionate Viper awkwardly attempting a kiss behind the Jade palace was enough to bring a brief half-smile to Tigress's face.

"I want you at your best. _You_ want you at your best. My advice you have. What you do with it is your own decision."

Traveller stood and turned to leave, but as he did so he said in a near-whisper that Tigress could barely pick up,

"But make the decision yours. Don't let time choose for you."


	6. King Zarach

Warning: From here on in, there will be quite a bit of fighting as we start to meet the villain, (As you may have guessed by the chapter title) He's a pretty nasty guy, and I will go into some detail in the fights. I don't think I put in very much gore or anything, but I will admit that my version of not much gore and someone else's may be different, so please bear in mind that I did rate this story M, and proceed at your own discretion.

That said, this chapter was a lot of fun to write (most of it anyway) And so, please enjoy!

I do not own Kung Fu Panda or any associated characters. However, Traveller, Zarach and the Skaal are **mine**.

* * *

 _The Dragon Warrior stood high upon a mountaintop, all of China laid out before him like a map. Light shone out from every part of of the land, music welling up into his ears as he smiled under his straw hat. The land was safe, and protected. All was as it should be._

Blood.

 _But as his gaze swept across the land once more, he saw there was one spot not in harmony with the rest. A tiny dot, no larger than a period, was dark instead of light. Curious as to what was disturbing the harmony of his homeland, the Dragon Warrior leapt into the air, staff in hand, and his cape billowing out behind him as he flew through the air._

Pain.

 _But, even as he flew towards it, the tiny dot began to expand, slowly at first, then faster and faster, swiftly becoming a shadowed tide. Determined now, he tried to increase his speed, only to find himself slowing down as the darkness increased, and visions began flashing through his mind, almost too fast to comprehend._

 _A burning village. A Skiyr raising a rhino head high in it's taloned grasp. Villagers running in fear as darkness grew around them._

 _What had begun as a tiny, inky dot, had now covered half of China. The more land it covered-_

Nightmare.

 _-The faster it grew. Inwardly, the Dragon Warrior was nearly panicking now. The greater the darkness, the weaker he became._

 _And then, the shadows had swallowed all of the light. He was floating aimlessly now, in a sea of utter blackness. His hat, cape and staff were all gone, leaving him feeling naked as he searched about desperately for a light, a way out._

 _But there was nothing. No light. No help. No hope. And then…_

 _And then a dark laugh echoed around him. Po twisted and turned as best he could, suspended in the air as he was. he tried to pinpoint the source of the laugh, but it bounced and echoed all around him and he could not find the source. Until He came._

 _Blacker than the walls of darkness surrounding Po, came Zarach. The panda knew not how he knew, but there was no doubt in his mind. The creature was larger than the Skaal he had seen before, with a heavy curved sword gently resting on his shoulder. Around his head, just above his eyes, a crown of silver scars glittered, standing out brightly in contrast to the pitch-black fur covering the Skaal's body._

 _"Well, well, well." The Skaal chuckled. "So this is the famous Dragon Warrior, hmm?"_

 _Po said nothing, just attempted to swallow the rising fear and glare at his tormentor._

 _"Strong, silent type then? It doesn't matter. The outcome remains the same, no matter what your motivations be."_

 _The Skaal came closer, a foul stench rising from it, making Po's eyes water._

 _"Shall I show you?"_

 _Zarach gestured, and at last there was light. But unlike the light before, this was not warm and inviting. This was the brutal glow of an all-consuming fire. A hole had appeared at the edge of Po's vision. Smoke and tongues of fire emanated from the pit, and Po thought he could hear distant screams coming from it._

 _"You and everyone you wish to protect will die. Screaming." A dark joy lit Zarach's eyes as he spoke. Another gesture, and a group of the same villagers he had evacuated to the palace appeared over the pit, their eyes meeting with Po's as they cried for help before plunging into the hole. As they entered, the smoke and flames increased, and a sickening smell permeated the air, almost enough to overpower Zarach's own stench._

 _"No!"_

 _The Skaal laughed again._

 _"Everyone you care about."_

 _One after another, Crane, Viper, Monkey, Mantis, Shifu. All were fed to the flames, each one calling out for his help before disappearing. Po was crying now, as he strained one arm towards them, desperately willing himself to be able to reach them, save them, anything._

 _"Everyone you love will burn."_

 _"Po!"_

 _Desperately flapping to keep himself above the hole was Po's father. The goose seemed to be making headway against the pull of the pit, but it was obvious that he could not maintain it for long._

 _"You can do it, dad! Get out of here!" Po cried out, once again desperately trying to move forward, but still unable to do so. Zarach laughed again._

 _Then a hand shot out of the pit, grasping Mr Ping's foot and halting the goose's progress. Ping gave a terrified squawk and then was pulled down into the hole._

 _"No!"_

 _"Po! Help me!"_

 _The panda raised his hanging head, and tried to concentrate through his tear filled eyes. And there was Tigress, sliding ever so slowly into the pit. Suddenly, Po was able to move once again and he swam awkwardly through the thick air._

 _"I'm coming, Tigress!"_

 _"Help!" Her cry was more desperate now as her feet nearly touched the hole._

 _The panda put every ounce of his strength into paddling his way through the air. He was almost there, his hand reaching forward and just brushing her fingertips…_

 _And she fell. And the pit closed above her._

 _"And there is nothing you can do to stop it." Zarachs voice whispered in his ear._

 _"You monster!" Po cried, turning and attempting to punch his tormentor. Zarach moved out of the clumsy blow's way gracefully._

 _"There will always be monsters, Dragon Warrior. It is your duty to stand against us. And you_ failed _. The onus for all this suffering lies on your head."_

Po sat straight up in his little cot, panting. There was only the barest hint of light as the sun just peeked above the horizon. He patted himself down, making sure that all of him was there.

"Okay… It was just a dream. A nightmare."

 _But it felt so real._ An inner voice worried. _I've had many dreams, but this…_

Po deliberated for a moment, then reached a decision. He got out of his cot and stretched out a hand under it, fumbling around until he came in contact with a small rectangular box.

* * *

Tigress hesitated just outside of Po's room. She could hear him scuffling about in there, so she knew he was awake. She mentally steeled herself, then slid the door open.

"Po, I-"

She stopped suddenly at the scene in front of her.

Po was sitting cross-legged on the floor, holding open a rectangular wooden box in his paws. Sitting on the red velvet covering it's insides were the nunchaku Dau Dai had made for Po, what seemed like a lifetime ago. The elder warthog who made them might be half-crazed, but even Tigress had to admit that they were among the finest weapons the panda owned.

Po had not turned at her voice, so Tigress stepped into the small room, sliding the door shut behind her. She debated putting a paw on the panda's shoulder, and though she wanted to do so, she decided against it. She was unsure of how Po would react after her outburst the other night.

"Are you alright?" She asked hesitantly.

Po didn't answer. Instead, he reached into the box, and retrieved the nunchucks. He tested their weight in his paws, then closed the box and placed it on the floor. Finally he spoke.

"I'm fine, Tigress. Just a nightmare."

Even though he struggled to keep his voice level, there was still a hint of pain and sadness in it. It was only a hint, but it was more than enough for the tiger master to pick up on, and she winced at the sound of it. Regret once again washed over her for her previous outburst.

"Po I'm… I'm sorry for what happened last night."

"It's not just last night Tigress." Po said quietly. "It's like you've been angry with me ever since Gongmen city." He turned his head and looked at her with slightly bloodshot eyes. "What did I do?"

"Nothing!" Tigress said quickly, attempting to reassure the panda. "I just…"

She was unable to find the words she needed to express how she felt. Her training had never prepared her for this. She suddenly wished she was facing down one of Shen's cannons again instead of this. She could deal with cannons, but she had no idea how to tell the panda before her that she might...

Realizing that Po was waiting for an answer, she gave the first excuse that came to mind, and hoped her inner turmoil wasn't obvious to the panda.

"I'm sorry. I've been trying to work on my meditations since we returned from the city. I haven't had much time to train-"

"And a Tigress that isn't training is an unhappy Tigress." Po finished wryly. "I get it. The whole inner peace thing isn't easy. But it's only gotten worse since Traveller showed up."

Tigress hesitated. She still didn't want to talk to anyone about what Traveller had told her and Viper in the Hall of Warriors. She didn't want to burden him anymore, it was bad enough that her actions had driven him to this.

Upon her hesitation, Po finally stood up, now fully facing the tiger. Little of his usual cheery self showed in his face as he scratched the back of his head.

"I just, I want us to go back to the way we were before." He said.

Tigress was mildly surprised at the pang that went through her at those words. Maybe it was true then. She didn't want to go back to the way they were before, she wanted something more. But despite what Traveller said, she couldn't say that to him. She tried to justify it to herself, they had to deal with the threat in front of them before this development, but a part of her feared his reaction, feared this step into unknown territory.

And so, Tigress took a deep breath and slowly released it. She looked Po in the eyes, and said in a barely audible whisper,

"So do I."

Po smiled then. It was slight, but it was still there.

"Alright then. Shall we kick these Skaal out of our valley Tigress and Po style?"

Tigress nodded in affirmation. "Agreed." She hesitated for a moment then said,

"You're… not still angry about-"

Po waved his hand dismissively.

"You know me, Tigress. I'm terrible at holding a grudge. Come on, lets go get something to eat."

At his words, relief flowed through the tiger. She rewarded him with a grateful smile as she stood aside, allowing Po to make his way towards the door, nunchucks still in hand.

 _When this is over. S_ he promised herself, following him out of the room, _I'll find a way to tell him. Somehow._

* * *

When they entered the dining hall together, Traveller and Shifu were already there. There were a few bowls of dumplings scattered about the room, but the table was occupied by a map that both the older men were poring over. They barely noticed the duo arriving, though Po quickly made his presence known by grabbing one of the filled bowls and gobbling it down as if it was his last meal.

The panda was neither subtle nor quiet while doing this, and Traveller looked up to see what the commotion was about. If he noticed Po's new weapon, he said nothing.

"You're here. Good."

"What's going on here, master?" Tigress asked, looking to Shifu.

"Traveller has made a map of the village." Shifu explained, not looking up. "We're trying to find the best way to engage the Skaal within it."

"I've also been keeping an eye out for Zarach's forces." Traveller added. "He must have pushed his men through the night . We have an hour at most before he gets here."

"An hour!?" Po cried, spitting dumplings everywhere. "That soon?"

Traveller nodded.

"They've picked up the pace. I don't know if I've let something slip, or Zarach is getting impatient or what. But we must be prepared for their arrival."

"What's the plan?" Tigress asked.

"We'll tell you when the others have come." Shifu said, finally looking up from the table." I only want to explain this once."

As if on cue, the rest of the Furious Five walked in the door.

"Did we miss something?" Crane asked as he looked around the room.

"Breakfast, apparently." Monkey said mournfully, noticing Po holding an empty bowl.

The panda gestured to the countertops, where more filled bowls still sat.

"Knock yourself out."

As the others served themselves, Shifu stood atop the table and tapped the wood with his staff, drawing their attention to him.

"Traveller and I have come up with a plan for when the Skiyr arrive." He began. "We will meet them outside the village. When they attack, we can draw them in. We know it better than they do, so we can use their numbers against them. They will be of less use in the streets of the village in any case."

"Sounds good!" Monkey cried gleefully, rubbing his hands together. "And we have plenty of time to prepare for them."

"Not quite." Traveller interjected. "Ziringol's forces should be here in less than an hour."

Viper gave Tigress a nervous look.

"An hour?" Crane shouted. "I thought you said they'd be here in three days!"

"They picked up the pace. At least we have some warning before they arrive. They will not catch us completely off guard."

"Eh, better than nothing, I guess." Mantis shrugged. "So we're just going to meet them outside the village?"

"In part." Traveller said, "I will not be with you at first. Zarachl will want to toy with his prey, and you may be able to find out why he's targeted your valley specifically. Any information you can get from him may help our fight.

"So why don't you talk to him?" Tigress asked. "You seem to know him well, you'd know what to ask."

Traveller shook his head.

"The moment he sees me, Zarach will turn vicious." He explained. "As long as I am not there, he will be underestimating you, and will be more likely to let something slip. Once I appear, he will be prepared for a real battle. Now, this is important. This battle will have a very specific goal. You must learn how your foe works. You need to know how they fight, and how best to fight back. No explanation I can give will aid as much as the real thing.

"Zarach will try to overwhelm and isolate you. Do not allow him to do so. If you are having difficulty, fall back. We're not here to defend the village; we've already brought everything from there worth defending. Trust me, all of us will be needed at the Palace when Zarach prepares a real fight."

"Won't he be doing that at the village?" Mantis asked.

"He'll still try to take us down, of course." Traveller acknowledged. "But he'll be learning from you as quickly as you learn from him. He will not commit his forces, nor himself, until he knows what he's up against. But this advantage will not last long, so make the best of it."

* * *

The sunlight that had briefly emanated from the sky earlier was now gone, was now quenched by dark and ominous clouds that spread as far as the eye could see, and a chill wind had picked up, making Po shiver as they descended the steps. The atmosphere was dark and tense, and even he was unwilling to break the silence. He carried his nunchucks under his arm, eyes darting about, on constant guard for potential threats.

Shifu lead the way, his staff only barely tapping the stone steps as he walked. Still, even that sound, faint as it was, seemed to echo around them. It was eerily quiet, and it seemed as though nature itself was holding it's breath in anticipation for the coming conflict.

Traveller was not with them. He would stay behind at the Palace and ensure the safety of the villagers first. He had promised he would be there before they clashed with Zarach, however. Po hoped he would make it in time. Despite the apparent resolution of his problems with Tigress, between last night's dream and the foreboding atmosphere, he was terrified of what was to come. Not for himself, but the thought of losing any of his friends was more painful than any physical wound his foes could harm him with. Especially…

He let his train of thought derail as they came down the last steps and walked into the village. It was like walking into a ghost town. It was completely deserted, and the grey illumination from the sky gave the whole place a sickly, lifeless look.

The wind picked up, whistling eerily around and through the empty buildings, wailing like a banshee's call, sending a shiver down Po's spine.

It did not take them long to get through the empty village and out into the other side, especially as they picked up the pace, none of them wanting to spend more time among the deserted abodes than necessary.

Po looked out to the horizon, trying to spot Zarach and his army. So far, there was nothing. Shifu seemed to come to the same conclusion beside him as he stood atop Oogway's staff.

"Crane, scout out the area, let me know what you find."

The avian master nodded at Shifu's command, then lept into the air. All that was left for the remaining masters was to wait.

Nervous energy building within him, Po was unable to stand still and wait as his fellows were doing. Instead, he took a few practice swipes with his nunchucks, testing the balance of them, and recalling how best to fight with the weapon. Viper watched him practice, and apparently Monkey thought his idea was a good one, as the master took a few jabs and swipes with his staff not far from where Po was practicing.

After what seemed like an eternity, Crane winged his way back, landing next to Shifu. The red panda furrowed his brows at the avian.

"Well?"

"They're almost here."

Those three quiet words had an instant impact on the masters. Po and Monkey stopped their weapon testing, and stood with the rest, forming a line behind Shifu.

"Now remember, I will handle the talking." Shifu warned.

"And we'll keep an eye on them so we're prepared when they attack." Viper finished, narrowing her eyes and hissing menacingly.

Shifu nodded and stared out into the horizon.

They did not have to wait long.

Swift moving shadows began to gather at the horizon, moving fast towards the masters. More and more poured in behind them in an ever-growing tide. As they neared the masters, they were revealed to be as Traveler had shown them, though the projection had not captured the feeling of malice they brought with them, nor the stench of death that surrounded them.

The masters stood, unmoving as the Skaal approached. It was difficult to tell with the shifting tide of living flesh, but Po figured there had to be near three hundred of the nightmarish creatures. He tightened his grip on his nunchuks, taking comfort from the solid feel of the wood and metal in his paw.

The Skiyr had been running on all fours, their long talons ripping apart the dirt beneath them as they charged. But they did not attack the masters. Instead, they drew up sharply fifteen paces from where Shifu stood. They lined up in a black wall, rank upon rank of the monsters drawn up in an orderly fashion. Then He appeared.

Zarach. He was exactly the same as he had been in Po's dream, even his sword still rested on his shoulder as he walked through the ranks of his kind. He was grinning, or perhaps it was a grimace; it was difficult tell with the creatures strange face. He stopped just ahead of the wall of his army, and lowered his long neck so his head was level with Shifu's. The stench of death was now so great that Po had to fight to keep himself from gagging and he could see the eyes of his fellows watering at the smell.

"Is this how you greet all visitors?" Zarach asked in a hurt tone. His voice was deep, and slightly raspy. While it was not unpleasant to listen to in and of itself, something about it was… wrong.

"We do not often get visitors in such force." Shifu replied calmly.

"Well, that's hardly reason for you to be out here in such numbers." The Skaal king said mockingly. "We were just passing through. In fact, we've done nothing but aid you since we got here."

"Have you now?" Shifu asked warily.

"Of course. We noticed you had a bandit problem in the area, so we… dealt with the issue."

Ziringol whistled through his teeth and long poles were suddenly raised among the Skaal. There were perhaps twenty of them in total, and each one bore a croc head at the top.

Tigress growled at the sight and Po muttered to the others,

"Fung and his group were jerks but… they didn't deserve that."

Shifu had not said anything, causing Zarach to prompt him.

"Where I come from, performing helpful tasks like this is rewarded."

"And what is it you wish as reward?" Shifu asked, just a hint of danger in his voice.

"Why, the Valley of Peace, of course."

There was a dark chuckle from the Skaal behind him, and a few of the creatures roared in approval.

"That's quite a hefty price for such a small deed." Shifu responded quietly.

"Maybe so. But it is what I want."

"We deny your request."

Zarach took a step forward threateningly.

"It was not a request. You have no idea what you are up against, small one. I am-"

"A long-winded fool with delusions of grandeur."

Zarach's neck whipped to the side at this new voice and, emerging from the village, was Traveller. At the sight of him, there was an ominous rumble from the Skaal forces, and Zarach bared his fangs, the spines atop his head standing straight as he did so.

"Traveller." Zarach spat, and the sheer hate in his voice made Po shudder. "Always turning up where you aren't wanted."

"I will not allow you to harm these people, Zarach." Traveller said quietly as he came to stand beside Shifu.

"So noble." Zarach sneered. "But this is a facade you wear poorly, Traveller. How conveniently you forget those you yourself have made suffer to get where you are now. How long can you keep this up, I wonder?"

"Your lies fall upon deaf ears, beast." Traveller's eyes narrowing as he spoke. "I will not allow you to create another dark empire."

"We shall see."

With these parting words, Zarach leapt backwards, his army parting to allow their leader safe landing. The Skaal leader then pointed his blade at the meager village defenders.

"Attack!"

There was a roar from the Skaal and they began to charge Traveler and the masters. As the others got into their respective combat stances, Traveller drew a strange weapon from beneath his cloak.

It was like a kind of short sword, but instead of a thin blade it was thick and blocky, resembling quartz. The metal it was made out of was the same light grey as his armour and despite it's cumbersome appearance, Po knew that Traveller would not have chosen this weapon were it ineffective. As the black wave approached them, Traveller whispered to the masters,

"We cannot hold them here long. We must fall back to the village before they cut us off. Keep together, and watch your back."

Then, he charged forward, meeting the Skaal before they reached Po and his friends. He slid under a claw swipe, then pushed himself up with one hand, thrusting his blade deep into the creature's chest as he did so. There was the audible crunching of bone, and black blood began to spurt from the wound. The Skaal gave a shrill shriek and collapsed on top of the Eldar, who then tossed the carcass into the Skaal line, fouling their movement. Then he darted to the left, several Skaal breaking off to chase him, gaining quickly as he ran into the village.

Then the tide was upon Po. Tigress let out a roar as they closed and Po whirled his nunchuks threateningly.

The masters quickly learned that the Skiyr were _fast_. They carried no weapons, but their claws looked like they could do significant damage. Their long, flexible necks made their fangs a real threat, as if they had an extra limb to attack with. They were far less refined than the kung-fu masters however, relying more on their brute strength and speed than skill. Had they been more evenly matched, The masters would likely have been able to easily defeat them. As it was…

Po cried out in pain as a claw tore into his upper arm. The wound instantly began to throb, and the panda felt as though his entire left arm was on fire. With his right, he swung the nunchuks up, stopping a split second before smashing into the Skaal's jaw, allowing the chain to swing up thudding the other wooden bar into its target. The force of the blow sent the Skaal's head snapping up, stumbling backwards and fouling others gathering behind it. But now, they were all but surrounded, the masters fighting in a small circle with their backs to each other as they held against their foes.

Shifu danced from foe to foe, his own speed combined with his size far outweighing the swiftness of their enemies. He called out,

"I will open a path to the village! Once I have done so, fall back through it. I will meet you there!"

"Shifu!" Monkey cried out as one Skaal plucked the red panda out of the air, squeezing him in one fist. Thinking fast, Po called,

"Crane! Wings!"

"One second!" The avian master cried out, locked in his own fight. The Skaal fighting him were using their weight to push the master down, and he was teetering dangerously close to the ground.

Po knew they didn't have much time, so he made a split-second decision.

"Tigress, duck!"

The tiger instinctively obeyed the panda, ducking low as he threw his nunchuks in a spinning vortex over Tigress's head. They spun faster and faster, until they collided with the skull of one of the Skaal battling Crane. There was sickening crunch from the impact, and the force of the blow sent the entire body flying, knocking down the other Skaal and freeing Crane. So far, none of the other masters had been able to get to Shifu, who was thrashing about in the Skiyr's grip, making it difficult for the creature to hold onto him. It was using both hands now and all it's attention was focussed on the master in his hands.

"Crane!"

"Ka-kaw!"

Crane clapped his wings together, sending a shockwave through the air, and momentarily throwing the Skaal off balance. That moment was all the masters needed however, allowing them to broaden the empty circle around them, letting Shifu escape from his own predicament. The Red Panda took a few seconds to beat his own opponent down into the dirt, then he sprang away, bouncing between the few Skaal that had flanked them, opening up and exit route for his students.

Their foes were already recovering from the blast, and the defenders quickly fell back into the village.

"Monkey, Crane! Take the high ground!" Tigress called out as the Skaal followed them into the village streets. "Viper, Mantis! Spread out, hit them hard and fast. Po and I will keep their attention."

There was a chorus of affirmation from the group, then, as Po and Tigress skidded to a halt and faced the onrushing attackers, Crane and Monkey took to the rooftops, while Mantis and Viper split down separate alleyways. There was no sign of Traveller or Shifu, but the two warriors did not have much time to check for them before the Skaal were upon them.

"Ready?" Tigress asked her companion.

"I was born ready."

Due to the more enclosed space of the village, The Skiyr were unable to just swarm over the two defenders. They were forced to come at them a few at a time, but still used their overwhelming numbers to their advantage, as the back ranks pushed forwards, giving extra momentum to their front lines.

But Tigress and the Dragon Warrior held their ground, fighting together in perfect sync. It was as if their minds had become one. Po would overextend himself on a punch, throwing himself too far forward into the pressing Skaal, and Tigress would pull him back by grabbing his arm and twisting her body through the air, unleashing a powerful kick on an unsuspecting foe. Or they would stand together, each blow they unleashed against the Skaal opening up an opportunity for the other, and soon the ground around them became littered with broken and battered enemies.

They were not alone, however. Crane and Monkey attacked the Skaal from the rooftops at first, making swift guerrilla strikes on their foes to keep them off balance. But the Skaal themselves soon began climbing the buildings, massive claws digging deep into the surface of the walls as they climbed with the same deadly speed they fought with. This forced those masters to try and hold the Skaal back on the rooftops before they reached Po and Tigress from above. But as more and more black-furred creatures took to the rooftops they began to be pressed back.

Then Mantis and Viper struck from the alleyways, causing carnage in the Skaal ranks as the more lithe and agile masters whipped their way seemingly effortlessly through the Skaal lines.

Despite all this, the Skiyr did not break, and Po and Tigress found themselves being pushed back step by step. As Po gave a quick glance to the ground, he saw several of the Skaal they had beaten down already rising again, most of them bearing some kind of wound, but still not out of the fight.

"We need to get out of here, Tigress!" Po cried out, feinting to the side, then grabbing a Skaal by it's long neck and pulling, smashing the beast into his ample stomach and bouncing him back into the Skaal line.

Tigress ducked a swiping claw, then opened her mouth to speak. But before she could do so, Traveller appeared, leaping off a rooftop and landing beside the two defenders. There was a roar from the Skaal at the sight of him, and the creatures attacked again with renewed vigor.

"Fall back to the palace!" Traveller shouted, swinging his weapon in an intricate pattern before him and giving the Skaal momentary pause before rushing headlong into him.

"Shifu and I will give us enough time to get back. Go! Go!"

Tigress unleashed one final, devastating kick, then fell to all fours and began to run back to the palace. Po was not far behind, the panda's legs almost moving in a blur as he tried to keep up with the tiger. The rest of the Five quickly caught up with them, Mantis running ahead while Crane flew overtop of them and Viper and Monkey flanking Tigress and the Dragon Warrior. Po chanced a quick look behind him, and saw several Skaal following them, both of the roads and on the rooftops. And they were gaining fast.

They were almost at the thousand steps by the time Traveller and Shifu reached them. Neither of them seemed badly hurt, just a few scrapes and bruises.

The kung fu masters began ascending the steps, just as the Skaal reached them. Traveller fought off those that attempted to ascend with them, but few did. Looking down, Po saw that most of their enemies had gathered around the bottom of the staircase, staring up at them. Zarach was there at the back, and Po shuddered as his gaze swept over him.

"Why aren't they following us?" Tigress panted as they slowed their ascent.

"Because I am here." Traveller said. "Zarach knows this was all part of a plan. He's not going to send his armies up while he thinks that's just what I want him to do. "

"So we're bluffing him." Monkey muttered.

"Yes. To successfully win a battle, you must win it both in the mind, and in the body. So far, the advantage of the mind goes to us. The more time we have to prepare, the better."

"Is everyone alright?" Viper asked concernedly.

The students had not fared as well as Traveller and Shifu, but they still suffered no major injuries. Po had a few deep gashes on his arms, and Monkey was holding his side tightly, but nothing life-threatening.

"There are healers up in the palace." Traveller said quietly, taking stock of their injuries. "It would be best to get you looked at right away. You do not want to risk losing a battle due to a minor wound."


	7. The Fires of War

Brace yourselves, this is a very intensive chapter coming up here. Keep reading though, and you shall be rewarded. I'd say more but... you'll have to read it for yourself.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda or any related characters. However, Traveller, Zarach and the Skaal are **mine**.

* * *

Po picked absently at the bandages covering his arms, breathing in the cool twilight air as he did so. He and most of his friends were sitting just outside the walls of the palace, close enough to hear the clamouring of the villagers inside. Monkey, Shifu and Traveller were all still within the palace, supervising and ensuring that all the needs of the villagers were met. There were a few young bunnies playing not far from the masters, who were keeping an eye on them and ensuring that they didn't wander.

Viper slapped away his paw with her tail.

"Po, stop picking at that!" She scolded.

The panda grunted at the smack, shaking his hand in an attempt to numb the pain. Then he sighed, reaching for a bean cake in the bowl in front of them as he did so.

"I know, I know. It's just, the waiting gets to me. They haven't made a move all day! I want something to happen!"

"Something has been happening." Crane called out, landing beside the group and folding in his wings.

"What's going on?" Tigress asked, rising from her seated position warily.

"The Skaal have been busy down there. They've been moving things all over the place, but I can't tell what exactly they're doing."

"Whatever it is, it's probably not good."

The masters turned to see Traveller approach from the now open gates of the Jade palace. He had a weary look on his face, the dying sun's light playing across his unhooded features.

"What do you think they're up to?" Mantis asked.

Traveller shook his head.

"I do not know. They could be preparing an assault, or attempting to weaken us, or even just be gathering information. Whatever it is, their goal is our downfall."

Traveller sat down beside the masters in the grass, rubbing his forehead as he did so. Tigress remained standing, periodically casting wary looks towards the valley.

"Are you alright, Traveller?" Viper asked, concern in her voice. The Eldar gave a slight, tired smile in response.

"I will be better when all this is over. As will you, I suspect."

"Yes." Viper said quietly.

"Traveller?" Tigress asked cautiously.

"Yes, Master Tigress?"

The tiger hesitated for a moment, her tail flicking about as she did so. She was unsure if she really wanted an answer to her question, but it had been bothering her for some time now, and she knew it was important. Even so…

"What Zarach said about you down there..."

The sudden tension that filled the air hit like whiplash. Each of the masters was fully alert, all of them focussing their gaze on Traveler. It had been something all of them had been wondering, but none had the courage to ask.

Traveller let out a sigh, and let his gaze wander out to the horizon.

"I will not lie to you. I have been a warrior for a very long time, and during that time I have made more than my fair share of mistakes and miscalculations. People have often suffered for that, though this was not my intention." He turned his gaze from the distance and studied each of the masters in turn. "Zarach will try to make us turn against each other. He tried to do it with my own team, and he'll do it now. Do not allow him to succeed."

"You have a team?" Crane asked in a poorly disguised attempt to steer the conversation away from the current topic. Fortunately, Traveller seemed more than willing to play along.

"I do. We are also five, and we have been fighting against Zarach and many other enemies for a long, long time."

"You guys are five too?" Po asked excitedly. "Are you like the Fabulous Five, or the Fighting Five or-"

Traveller cut the panda off with a wave.

"We believe in letting our actions speak for us, rather than fancy titles." His face darkened.

"Too few of my kind share that belief."

"Oh."

* * *

They sat in silence for a time, watching the landscape around them darken as the sun finally fell beneath the horizon.

There was a sudden bitter scent that hit Tigress's nostrils like a battering ram. As she wrinkled her nose,she noticed a large low-flying cloud rising from the village.

"That's an odd cloud…" Crane mentioned, echoing Tigress's own thoughts. As he drew attention to it, Traveller stood in a single, fluid motion.

"That's not a cloud."

He walked to the edge of the hill and looked down, the masters following him. When they looked, they cried out in distress.

The village below them burned. Even as they watched, more and more bonfires lit up around it, bathing it in a hellish light. Smoke billowed up from the fires, forming what Tigress had thought was a cloud. It seemed that anything flammable in the valley had been collected, and as they watched, trees crashed to the ground, resting for brief moments before bursting into flame. The Skaal had been busy indeed.

"Why would they do this?" Viper cried out, and the pain in her friend's voice was enough to make Tigress bare her fangs in an angry snarl.

"They're trying to flush us out." Traveller said quietly. "I should have guessed it."

"What do you mean?" Mantis asked.

"Zarach wants to remove every advantage we have." Traveller explained. "He wants to make us angry, make us foolish. He wants us to go and attempt to stop what he's doing, and he will be prepared should we do so. We _must not_ give up the high ground here."

"But they're destroying everything!" Po said mournfully as a building collapsed under the weight of the flames.

"The village can be rebuilt. The plants can regrow." Traveller reassured them. "What we cannot replace are your lives should you fall. "

"We have to do something." Tigress growled.

"We are. We're defending the villagers. Do not throw their lives, and your own, away to save objects of brick and stone." He turned away from the scene, gesturing for the masters to follow him.

"Come, let us return to the palace. We must make sure that none of the villagers attempt anything… rash."

Po hurried over to where the bunnies were playing and gathered them up swiftly in his arms.

"Come on, little ones. Let's find your parents."

Before they could reach the gate however, it burst open. Monkey, Shifu and a panicked-looking pig woman running through. Upon seeing Traveller, Shifu sprinted to him.

"Traveller! We have a problem."

"What is it?"

Shifu gestured to Monkey, who spoke, an undercurrent of worry in his voice.

"Mrs. Wo here cannot find her son! We've been looking throughout the Palace for him, but we've found no sign!"

Traveller's brows knit together in concentration.

"Surely there are plenty of places within the palace a child could hide within…"

One of bunnies struggled in Po's grasp as he called out,

"Ooh, ooh! I know where he went!"

As the attention of the adults was turned towards the children, another bunny whispered loudly,

"Ssh! We're not s'posed to tell anyone!"

"What aren't you supposed to tell us?" Tigress asked, focussing her gaze on the little ones.

"Well," The first bunny began. "Wo-Wo said he forgot something. He was going to go back home to get it." The child's eyes narrowed as a worried murmur rose from the adults.

"We tol' him he shouldn't go, but he wouldn't listen to us."

The already worried mother began to panic even more at this news, all but collapsing into a sobbing, gibbering heap. Viper slithered over and attempted to comfort her.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Wo. We'll get your son back." She then looked up at Traveller.

"We can't leave a child down there!"

With the attention of the masters upon him, Traveller closed his eyes. He seemed to be having an internal struggle.

"We have to save him." Tigress insisted, echoing her friends words. Traveller opened his eyes then.

"You're right. We can't leave him to the mercy of the Skaal."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Po asked, putting the bunnies on the ground and shooing them towards the inner grounds of the Jade Palace, then turning and making for the thousand steps.

"Not so fast, Panda!" Shifu called out, causing Po to skid to a stop and turn to look bemusedly at his master. "We cannot afford to go without a plan." He then turned to Traveller and spoke quietly to him.

"Mantis and I are small and fast. We could get into the village without Ziringol's forces noticing, and find the child before they find us."

Traveller nodded.

"A good idea, but you will need more than that." He was silent for a few brief moments, then said,

"Tigress, Crane, Viper and I will be on a distraction team. We'll do our own search for the child, and try to keep the Skaal off of you."

"Hey, what about me?" Po asked.

"And me!" Monkey added.

"We need you to defend the Palace." Traveller insisted. "Once he knows that most of us are in the village, Zarach will likely attempt to assault us here. We cannot leave the villagers undefended."

"But-"

"Dragon Warrior." Traveller said firmly. "Your fighting style is impressive, but neither it, nor you, is built for speed and stealth. We need you here."

Po nodded unhappily, looking longingly towards the thousand steps as he did so.

"One more thing."

As he spoke, Traveller drew two curved, silver horns from beneath his cloak. He presented one to Shifu and one to Po.

"Shifu, should you find the child, blow this horn once. Once my team hears it, we'll know to fall back to the palace. Should you be in danger of being overwhelmed, blow it thrice, and we will come to your aid as swiftly as we are able." He then turned his attention to Po.

"Po, should the Skaal assault the palace, sound the horn twice. If we have not yet found the child, then our distraction team will fall back to aid you, while Shifu's group continues their search. Hopefully we find him quickly. The longer we spend separated, the more opportunities Zarach has to isolate and destroy us."

"Understood." Shifu invoked.

"Good. Let us go then."

As they began to descend the stairs, Po called out,

"Tigress!"

She turned and looked at Po curiously.

"Yes?"

Po found it much harder to say what he wanted to than he had anticipated, the words drying up in his throat. Just as Tigress began to look annoyed, he managed to say,

"Be careful down there."

Tigress smiled slightly at the worry in the panda's voice.

"I'll be fine, Po."

* * *

The copious amounts of ash in the air stung Tigress's eyes as they descended the stairway, and the thick smell of smoke overpowered any other scents, as well as further reducing visibility.

Crane coughed harshly and beat his wings in a futile effort to get the smoke away from him.

While they had all hated seeing the village silent and empty, as they reached the bottom of the steps, this new sight was much worse. Flames roared out of and around almost every building, bricks and mortar were left scattered across the streets and flames cast strange shadows around every corner.

Shifu and Mantis darted off to the right, leaving Traveller and his group at the bottom of the stairs. Traveller had pulled up his cloak, covering his mouth with the fabric in an effort to keep himself from swallowing the ash.

"Be quick, and careful." He warned as they advanced into the flames. "We must keep the attention of the Skaal on us, without letting them know that is our intention. If Zarach suspects were are merely a distraction, he'll try and find out why."

"How are we supposed to see anything in here?" Crane complained.

"Stop being a wimp." Tigress retorted, striding ahead of Traveller.

It was hot in the village, but that was to be expected. Flames darted out of windows or smashed holes in almost every building. It was like they were in another world, a world of heat and shadow, the dancing light of the flames catching at strange angles, casting flickering shadows around the group as they forged ahead. Viper had coiled herself around Tigress's shoulders, her head darting about as she tried to distinguish the vague shadows from actual threats. Crane seemed especially jumpy, constantly on the edge as they followed Traveller through the streets.

"Look out!"

The sound of Crane's shout had not even faded before the structure of the house they were travelling beside let out a massive groan and the wall toppled into the street. Tigress leapt out of the way, just missing the collapsing wall. Traveller was already on the other side ofit, and he had not turned to them. Instead, he was drawing his weapon as he stared out through the hazy air.

"Thanks, Crane." Viper said gratefully as Tigress wiped ash from her fur and approached Traveller, Crane following not far behind.

"What do you see?" Tigress asked the motionless Eldar, scanning the way ahead for signs of what had caused his sudden halt.

The answer quickly became clear however, as a small band of Skaal materialized from the street ahead. They approached the fighters warily, hissing menacingly as they did so.

"Take them out swiftly." Traveller warned as the other masters prepared to attack. "We bring them down, then move on. We can't let Zarach trap us in."

Viper coiled around Tigress's arm like a spring. The tiger master pointed her at the Skaal, and the snake shot out like the balls from one of Lord Shen's cannons. Tigress charged after her friend, flanking Traveller with Crane bringing up the rear while Viper wreaked havoc within the Skaal group, using their own limbs against them.

The fight was fierce, but short. With the Skaal group in chaos after Viper's assault, the other three were swiftly able to dispatch the remaining creatures. However, Tigress did take a hit when one Skaal's claws raked across her ribcage, tearing through fur and flesh in a long, jagged line. Tigress growled in pain at the wound, then latched both her paws onto the Skaal's neck and twisted suddenly, snapping it and causing the creature to fall limply to the ground as she released it.

"Are you alright?" Traveller asked as the last of their foes went down and he cleaned his weapon.

"It's just a scratch." Tigress assured him, though the wound stung like liquid fire. She caught herself wishing that she had thrown her entire body at ironwood trees instead of just attacking them with arms and legs. While the nerves in those had been utterly destroyed, her torso was still a weak point. Perhaps she would attend to that after the Skaal had been defeated.

Traveller seemed to accept her assurance and began heading down the street again, kicking one of the Skaal bodies as he passed.

"Let's get moving. There will be more."

They travelled down the burning streets cautiously, avoiding the flames and the buildings around them that became more and more structurally unsound by the minute.

Though they kept searching, they found no trace of the child, nor did Shifu signal to them that he had found him. Tigress could see as Traveller got grimmer by the second, and she guessed he was losing faith that they would find him at all.

At last, they came to a larger, empty space, the town square. There was a large bonfire in the middle of it, but that would be easily avoided.

Traveller wiped the sweat from his forehead, flicking it away as he crouched down for a moment, breathing in the slightly less ash-filled air low to the ground.

"I just had to take a black cloak." He muttered.

"A little bit warm down there?" Crane asked.

Traveller gave a brief half-smile.

"Let's just say I'll be glad to be back at the palace when this is over."

Any further conversation was cut short as four Skaal rounded the corner of the street they had just come out of, and howled a challenge at the masters. Traveller rose swiftly and faced the intruders, and the Skaal slowly advanced upon them.

Before they could attack however, one of them froze, twisting in upon itself as it fell. Then there was a blurring of movement, and in a few brief seconds, the Skaal lay on the ground, with Shifu and Mantis standing behind them.

"Shifu?" Tigress asked bemusedly.

Slifu then took note of Traveller and his group. He hopped upon Oogway's staff and questioned,

"Traveller! Any sign?"

The Eldar shook his head.

"Not a one. You?"

Shifu sighed and rubbed his head.

"No. When we saw the Skaal had focussed their attention on something here I had hoped…"

"That he was here." Traveller finished. "I'm afraid it's just us."

"I see."

Mantis spoke up then.

"I hope we can find him in time, this place is crawling with Skaal, and I'm not happy about the flames everywhere."

"I don't know, it is rather homey once you get used to it." Crane quipped, albiet nervously.

There was a sudden roaring coming from all around them, and the masters looked up to see several Skaal leaping off of rooftops to surround the group, who prepared themselves for battle.

Tigress leapt forward into the fray, not waiting for their foes to close with them. She attacked the enemy forces in a furious whirlwind, striking at them with powerful blows. The Skaal group seemed to flinch back from her sudden assault, giving an opportunity for her companions to attack as well, keeping the beasts off balance. Claws slashed through the air, but the masters were now prepared for the unnatural speed of their foes, making it easier to avoid the slashing talons as they cut into their enemies.

It was not long until the Skaal group had split apart, fighting furiously against their greatly outnumbered foes. While the masters were more skilled than their opponents, the enemy numbers, coupled with their raw strength and speed, kept them from an easy victory.

Traveller was like water as he fought, shifting and changing as he seemed to dance from one foe to another. They were fast, but he was faster, and he cut a swath through the enemy lines, suffering only a few wounds in the process.

Tigress knocked another Skaal to the ground, then hit it with a powerful kick as it landed, sending it skidding away to thud into the bonfire with a screech and the sudden, acrid stench of burning fur. She turned to another beast that had been harassing her but, as it saw that it's fellows were losing the fight, it attempted to flee towards the alleyways.

Tigress lept after the beast, striking it hard and fast with her fists. She did not give the creature an opportunity to strike back, and it was swiftly reduced to a crumpled heap on the ground. She was turning to her companions in triumph, when she noticed a small shadow darting through an alley. The motion was so quick that she was unsure if she had actually seen something, or if it has just been a random shadow cast by the flame.

Acting on a sudden feeling, she followed the shape cautiously, hearing the sounds of battle die down behind her as her companions finished off their foes.

Turning into the alleyway, her eyes widened as she saw a young pig huddled under the shadow of a building that was still mostly intact. Advancing upon the figure were two Skaal, slowly closing in on the child.

Tigress let out a roar, drawing the Skaal's attention as she charged down the corridor, determined not to allow harm to come to the young one. The creatures turned at the sound, hissing menacingly at her. That was all they had time to do however, as Tigress bore down upon them.

Dodging past razor sharp claws, she grabbed one Skaal by the arm and pulling it in towards her, unleashing a powerful kick as she did so. The impact sent the beast crashing through the wall of the opposing building, the sudden structural damage in addition to the fire causing the building to collapse on top of the beast.

The other Skaal attempted to flee, but Tigress leapt high into the air, landing atop the creature before it could escape and pounding it into the dirt.

Her task finished, she turned towards the child who was cowering underneath his little alcove. Her gaze softening as she reached out a paw towards the pig, who hesitated for only a brief moment, then ran to her, allowing her to gather him up in her arms.

"Don't worry little one. " She whispered softly. "We're going to get you out of here."

Turning, she saw Traveller not far behind her, wiping his weapon clean on a Skaal corpse. Seeing Tigress's new burden, he gave a relieved smile.

"You found him."

Tigress nodded.

"Wonderful. Let's get back to the Palace while we still can."

They hurried out of the alleyway, Tigress holding the little one close to her chest to protect him from the raging flames. Upon exiting the alleyway, and returning to the relative safety of the wider street, They saw Shifu and Crane beating down the last of the Skaal that had attacked them.

"We found him." Tigress called out, attracting the attention of the other masters who gathered around them.

"Well done!" Shifu beamed.

"Yes, and lucky that we are all here now." Traveller said. "Now we just have to get back to the Palace before-"

Traveller stopped suddenly and his eyes narrowed.

"Where's Viper?"

At this question, the masters scanned the area in alarm, and sudden fear rose within Tigress. Viper was nowhere to be seen.

"She was fighting off a Skaal down the street last I saw her." Crane remarked, flapping down in the direction he had indicated in an effort to find their friend. Traveller followed the avian master, walking slowly and seeming to scan the road beneath them.

As Tigress watched, he knelt down to the ground, and brushed a hand against the cobbles, then brought the hand up to his face and inhaled deeply. The result was instant, the Eldar recoiling in disgust, shaking his hand clean as he did so. Tigress approached him, hoping he had some insight into what had happened.

"Did you find something?"

Traveller looked up at her from his kneeling position, anger and worry evident in his features.

"Knockout powder. Shit." He rose to a standing position as the other masters hurried to their side. "They have her."

Tigress saw the worried expressions in the faces of both Mantis and Crane, but they were nothing compared to the horror across Shifu's face, nor the bitter, icy dread that welled up within her.

"We have to save her!" Shifu cried, only seconds faster than Tigress's own utterance.

Before Traveller could reply, two sharp horn blasts sounded from the direction of the Jade Palace, drawing their attention. Even from this distance, Tigress thought she could see black shapes swarming up the stairs, and even the cliffs surrounding the palace.

Traveller swore again, louder this time, then began speaking quickly.

"Shifu, take Mantis and Crane and bring the kid back to the Palace, You can bring him to safety and reinforce our defenses there. Tigress and I will go and get Viper back before they get her to their main camp."

"But-"

"Go! Go!" Traveller shouted commandingly. "We don't have much time!"

Tigress handed the small pig to Crane, who took the whimpering little one in his talons and attempted to comfort him. Then the avian took to the air, Mantis and Shifu running after him and quickly disappearing down a corner.

"Come on, Tigress!" Traveller called, and Tigress saw he was already far down the street, avoiding the flames licking from the buildings with graceful speed. The tiger went to all fours, running as fast as she could as Traveller leapt up one of the buildings that had only been mildly scorched by the flames, pulling himself up onto the roof. Tigress was not far behind, and jumped onto the same building, effortlessly climbing it to stand by where Traveller gazed out around the sea of fire around them, seeming to be searching for Viper's captors.

"Do you see her anywhere?" Tigress asked urgently, her eyes darting about the flames and wreckage that had once been a thriving village while another building collapsed with a hideous groan,

"No, but I should be able to track them. They can't have gotten far."

"How can you track them through all this?" Tigress asked, following Traveller as he bounded to another rooftop and began running across it, the building creaking ominously underneath his weight.

"Trust me, Tigress. I have tracked the Skaal before." Traveller explained, making another jump and nearly losing his balance on the edge of the new roof before righting himself. "They leave signs of their passing. They're subtle, but there, if you know what you're looking for.

"You'd better be right." Tigress muttered.

They continued from rooftop to rooftop, Traveller periodically changing direction as he tried to catch them up to Viper. While Tigress was again composed and cool on the outside, her inner panic was only rising, and she was having to fight to keep it down. She could not let her friend suffer at the hands of those creatures.

Traveller paused at another roof's edge, and Tigress came up behind him, hoping he had caught sight of their quarry. As she walked however, the roof collapsed underpaw, causing her to fall, her claws scrabbling at the tiled roof in an effort to slow her descent. She could now feel the heat from the flames beneath her. If she fell…

But Traveller was there, and he grasped her arm, hauling her up from her predicament with surprising strength. Tigress regained her balance on the roof, and looked to Traveller gratefully.

"Thanks."

Traveller gave a quick nod of acknowledgement, then pointed down to the street below them.

"There they are."

Tigress peered over the side of the building, noting two Skaal sprinting down the street. One of them held something loosely in one hand.

"Quickly, let's go!"

On this command, Tigress lept from the building to one of the Skaal, knocking it flat on it's stomach. It flailed about momentarily, but the tiger master had taken it by surprise, and she swiftly stilled it. Traveller had had similar luck with his own foe, and he pulled his weapon from it's back as Tigress rose. He then turned the beast over, and lifted the limp form of Viper from the ground where she had fallen in the sudden assault. Tigress watched worriedly as Traveller checked the snake, opening her eyelids and putting his ear close to her mouth to check for breath.

"Well?"

Traveller lifted his gaze to the impatient tiger.

"She's alive, and untouched. It will take some time for the effects of the powder to wear off, but we got here in time."

Tigress let out a subtle sigh of relief, then cast her gaze towards the Jade Palace. Smoke obscured most of the entire hill the palace sat upon, but she knew it was there.

Unfortunately, the palace was not the only thing in that direction. Over the rooftops came several Skaal, bounding over and even through the flames that spurted high from cracked tiles. There were perhaps two dozen of the beasts, and they were gaining swiftly on them.

"Traveller…"

At Tigress's warning, Traveller looked up, his face darkening as he saw their predicament. Seeming to reach a decision, he handed Viper gently to Tigress.

"Circle round them. Get back to the palace with Viper as quick as you can. She will need to waken among familiar faces. I will draw them off, then meet you there."

"Traveller-"

"Go!"

Tigress hesitated for a second more, then nodded, turning away just as Traveller drew another horn from his cloak. It was larger than the small silver ones he had given out before, and instead of being in a simple curve, the bone horn twisted around itself before widening into a bowl. As Tigress hurried away, she heard Traveller mutter,

"All right you godless bastards. Let's dance."

From behind her the horn Traveller had withdrawn sounded. It was a haunting, melodic sound that rose and fell and seemed to last for eternity. As the echoes of the blast faded, a hellish scream rose in response from the Skaal. Tigress risked a glance and saw that the creatures were moving faster now, and all their attention was focussed solely on Traveller.

As she turned a corner, she lost sight of the scene behind her, focussing instead on delivering her friend back to safety. From behind her, the horn sounded again, briefly, then was cut off.

* * *

Author's Note: Come on you guys, you didn't actually think Tigress would let the Skaal take off with Viper, did you? Even without Traveller's help, there's no way she would have stopped before she'd freed Viper from their clutches, come Zarach or high water!


	8. Sound of the Horn

I do not own Kung Fu Panda or any related characters. However, Traveller, Zarach and the Skaal are **mine**.

* * *

Po's fist sent another Skaal head snapping backwards, it's long neck stretching out after it while the beast's body fumbled as it tried to figure out which way it was supposed to be facing. The panda did not give it a chance to center itself however, as he unleashed a kick that sent the creature sprawling.

Po took a brief moment to steady himself against the wall of the palace, panting slightly at the exertion as he surveyed the hilltop around him.

Monkey was fighting off another Skaal nearby the thousand steps, the agile master leaping and dodging out of the way of the creature's attacks, and returning with his own. Like Po, the master was not without wounds however, his right arm was bruised from an impromptu impact on the wall, and three claw marks curved across his chest from a blow he had not been swift enough to evade.

Monkey beat down his opponent, rapping it on it's skull a few more time with his staff before bounding over to Po who moved away from the comforting support of the wall, wincing slightly as he moved his leg. A flanking Skaal had snapped at his leg earlier, sinking fangs deep into the panda's flesh. While the Skaal had quickly regretted this action as the other foot coupled with the full force of the panda's weight descended on it's head, it had still taken some time to pry loose the jaw from Po's calf.

"You alright Po?"

Po waved his friend's concern away.

"I'm fine, Monkey. It takes more than this to bring down the legendary Dragon Warrior!"

Monkey gave a slight smile.

"Good to have you back bud."

"What do you mean?" The panda asked.

Monkey shrugged and ran over to the thousand steps, standing atop his staff much as Shifu did while peering over the edge.

"Oh, nothing. Po, there's more on their way."

"What about Shifu, Tigress and the others?" Po questioned, limping up to stand beside his friend.

The other master shook his head.

"No sign of them. Maybe they didn't hear the horn?"

Po scratched an ear as he looked over the steps to see more Skaal swiftly ascending them.

"Monkey, the _Emperor_ heard that horn. I'm surprised _I_ can still hear anything."

Monkey's only response was another shrug, his gaze never leaving the invaders.

"There's not too many of them, at least." He commented, getting off of his staff and into a fighting position.

"Maybe the others are keeping them distracted." Po suggested, attempting to solidify his stance without aggravating his wound, and failing.

The Skaal were nearing the top of the stairs when a flash of movement caught Po's eye. He turned his head towards it and his eyes widened as he saw four Skaal charging from their flank.

"Monkey, look out!"

Po leapt forwards, knocking his friend out of the way just as the Skaal closed with them.

"Where did they come from?" Monkey questioned, easily regaining his composure and joining the panda in a furious battle with the creatures, who snarled and spat as they attempted to shred the defenders with their huge talons.

"I don't-" Po was cut off as one of their foes lashed out with a foot, catching the panda on his already wounded leg. He hopped backwards with a cry of pain and crashed to the ground.

As the panda pulled himself up, groaning, he looked past where Monkey was holding off the four creatures, moving almost in a blur. Over the cliff's edge a Skaal head appeared, followed by it's long neck. A hand grasped at the loose earth as it attempted to pull itself up.

 _They're climbing the cliff!_ Po realized, horrified at the sheer determination of these creatures, that they would go so far to scale a near-sheer cliff-side to destroy them. Hauling himself up to his feet, he called out to Monkey,

"Head to the gate! We can't hold them off here!"

As the Dragon Warrior retreated to the gate, Monkey bounded backwards, snapping up his staff as he did so, connecting the light weapon with a black-furred jaw, sending it whipping to the side to collide with another beast's head. This bought the master enough time to fall back to Po while his foes gathered themselves together again.

Now they were standing just outside the gate to the palace, and the Skaal who had been ascending the staircase were now visible, moving cautiously towards their quarry as they fanned out to surround them. There were just over a dozen of the creatures in total, not too many, but the wounds already suffered by the defending masters coupled with the sheer relentlessness of their foes worried Po.

 _Come on guys, we're going to need some help here._ Po silently pleaded as the invaders drew ever closer. Then he had an idea. He called out as loudly as he could,

"Monkey! Sneeze!"

His friend looked at him curiously for a moment, as the Skaal slowed and hissed menacingly at them. Then his expression cleared.

"Right! Got it!"

Monkey leapt atop his staff, then jumped up to the top of the wall they had been pressed against, swinging his staff around to catch the top of the wall and pulling himself over. He stood atop the wall, gently placing his staff beside him as he rummaged in a pouch attached to his pants.

While he did so, their enemies were not idle, finally making their attack on Po. They attacked all at once, attempting to overwhelm and pull down the panda. Po had to fight harder than he could remember doing, blocking and evading as swiftly as he could to avoid the lethal claws of his enemies.

"Hey! Up here!"

While the majority of the invaders remained focussed on their assault upon the Dragon Warrior, a few turned their attention to Monkey at his outcry, baring their fangs at him as he grinned at them.

Monkey looked like he was about to say something, then began twitching his nose as if he were about to sneeze. He lifted a finger as if to say, "Hang on a moment." then brought his hands up to his face.

"Ah-Choo!"

At the exaggerated fake sneeze, Monkey's hands opened, sending shuriken flying, thudding into black-furred flesh. Most of them hit targets on the front line, causing them to howl in pain, distracting them from their efforts, and giving Po the time he needed to push back the Skaal, at least for a moment.

Monkey laughed raucously as he leapt down from the wall, staff in hand once again and began putting it to use, striking away the vicious warriors and widening the circle around his friend.

"Good one!" Po praised, punching a Skaal in the chest and tripping him to the ground, stamping on him with a foot to make sure he stayed down.

"I kept telling Shifu that all that joke stuff would come in handy." Monkey chucked, evading a swiping claw.

Their respite was but momentary however. The shuriken had been a good distraction, but had not left any significant wounds on their enemies and it was only a matter of time before they began to regroup. Monkey and Po were pressed back, step by step until their backs were pressed against the rough wood of the gate. Skaal bodies littered the ground, But they still pressed forward, hissing and screeching as they sensed victory close at hand.

From above, there was a whooshing sound, as something rocketed over their heads and into the palace, too swift for the masters to see what it was. Both masters were on the defensive now, no longer even attempting to attack, just to block and avoid the strikes that seemed to be getting swifter and swifter.

Then there was another whooshing sound, this time going the opposite direction, and something sped down, smashing into the backs of the Skaal, attacking like a whirlwind.

"Crane?" Monkey asked incredulously.

"Who else?" The avian chuckled, lashing out with his long legs at the black-furred abominations, deflecting their blows with his wings.

With the enemy's attention divided and help already here, The two tired masters gathered their remaining strength and made a push, swiftly dispatching the rest of their foes. As the last living nightmare fell, Po leaned up against the wall, giving a sigh of relief at the much needed respite. He only had a moment though, before his eyes snapped open and he faced Crane once again.

"Crane! Where are the others? Did you find the little one?"

Crane raised his wings in a calming gesture.

"Don't worry, we found the kid. I just had to drop him off before I helped you out over here. He's safe now. As for the others…" He scratched the back of his head with wing, a slightly worried expression on his face. "Shifu and Mantis should be here soon, they weren't far behind me last time I checked. But… Viper got captured."

"What?!" Both Po and Monkey exploded, almost simultaneously. "What happened?"

"During the fighting, she got separated from the rest of us." Crane explained. "And apparently, The Skaal have some kind of knockout dust or powder or something. I don't know why they wouldn't have used it on all of us though.

"Anyway, Tigress and Traveller went after her. We all would have gone, but since we found the kid already, and you blew that horn, we figured it would be best for some of us to head back here."

"No kidding." Monkey put in. "If you hadn't shown up, we'd be dead now."

"Well, it's not over yet." Crane said, a serious look on his face. He strode towards the stairs, lashing out with one leg as he did so, knocking a Skaal that had been attempting to rise back to the ground. "These guys don't give up do they?"

"Not so much." Po muttered.

"But there are more coming. This was just a small portion; they've got a lot of people gathering down there. It's going to be quite the party."

Po rubbed his aching leg, groaning at the news. All he wanted was to sit down for a while… maybe eat something…

"Do you think the others will get here before more of these guys do?" Monkey asked quietly. Crane shrugged in response.

"Maybe Master Shifu and Mantis, but the others…"

Crane looked worriedly towards the valley where flames still spat and smoke still rose. Po shared his friend's evident concern. Tigress was an amazing warrior, but he couldn't help the nagging fear in the back of his mind that said he might never see her again.

There was a commotion from below, and Crane's worried look was replaced by puzzlement, and the master hop-skipped over to the top of the stairs, followed closely by Po and Monkey. Looking over the stairway, a welcome sight met their eyes.

There were many Skaal gathering down below, and some of them had already begun advancing up the stairs. But within their ranks chaos reigned as they seemingly attacked nothing. Po smiled. He would bet dumplings that Mantis and Shifu were behind this.

Sure enough, the smaller masters emerged from the encroaching horde, sprinting to the palace. The Skaal warriors followed them, but at a cautious pace, allowing the masters to broaden the gap between them and their pursuers.

Even at full sprint, it took them some time to reach the top of the staircase, but when they did they had left the Skaal far behind.

"Are you alright?" Master Shifu asked, noticing the wounds on his students. They both nodded in confirmation.

"Don't worry about us." Monkey replied casually. "You should see the other guys!"

"Well done!" Shifu praised, noticing the bodies littering the ground. Then his brows drew together as he became serious again. "But it's not over yet. They're still coming, and it looks like there's many more gathering to assault us. It even appears that they can climb the cliffs around the palace."

"Yeah… Noticed that." Po said, scratching the back of his head. "Came as quite the nasty shock, let me tell ya."

"Take a moment to rest while you can." Shifu warned. "It will not be long before they arrive. Crane, you delivered the child?"

"Right before I pulled these guys out of the fire." Crane responded proudly.

"Good. At least we have some good news tonight."

It was not long before the Skaal made their presence known once again. They appeared over the edge of the hilltops, both from scaling the cliff-faces and climbing the stairs. They did not attack at once as they had before however. Upon seeing the masters prepared and waiting for them, they held back, allowing more and more of their forces to advance, creating a black wall of flesh and fur.

"Looks like they're going to attack us all at once." Crane muttered to the others.

One Skaal took a single step forward, and lowered his head to hiss at the masters.

"You've come to the wrong place, Skaal!" Po shouted defiantly.

The creature chuckled, then raised a finger and-

And then a horn sounded in the valley. A long, mournful call that rose and fell like the wind. At hearing this, the Skaal whipped their heads around in perfect unison to stare in the direction of the sound. As the notes of the horn faded away, a hellish scream rose from the valley below, as if in answer. Upon hearing this, the same shriek tore loose from the throats of the Skaal around the masters, forcing them to cover their ears with their paws at the horrendous noise. Then, as one, the creatures turned and ran down the staircase, dropping to all fours in their haste, leaving the masters alone and puzzled on the hilltop.

"What just happened?" Crane inquired, scratching his chest with a talon.

"I'm… I'm not sure." Shifu answered, walking over to the edge of the stairway to peer down it. "They're all gone, at least."

"I've never heard a horn call like that before." Monkey put in. "Maybe it was Traveller?"

"It could be." Shifu muttered. "Whatever it is, it seems to have drawn them away. We should trust that Traveller knows what he's doing."

Shifu then turned to his students.

"In the meantime, we should rest. Po and Monkey, you should have your wounds looked at."

"I'm alright." Po insisted.

"Po-"

"It doesn't hurt to badly anymore." The panda argued. "I can stay out here, someone needs to keep watch for Tigress and the others."

Shifu made as if to argue, but the determination in the panda's eyes dissuaded him.

"Very well." Shifu agreed, reluctantly. "Crane will stay with you. I won't leave you alone out here. And if the Skaal attack again, call us.

"Yes, Master Shifu." Po agreed, inwardly giving a sigh of relief at his master's easy acquiescence. His wound still ached, and he was weary, but he could not leave and rest while his friends fought for their lives down below.

Crane perched himself atop the wall, while Shifu, Monkey and Mantis entered the palace. Once they had gone, the gate closing behind them, Po sagged against the wall, trying to put as little weight as possible on his injured leg. Crane looked at him from above with concern, his mostly-white feathers standing out in bleak contrast to the black sky. He said nothing however, and soon returned his attention towards the village.

* * *

It was not long before Crane called out,

"Po, someone's coming!"

The Panda pulled himself from his position, and hobbled towards the stairway, Crane landing gently beside him and folding his wings behind his neck. Po desperately hoped it one of his friends, and not more of the Skaal.

Moving swiftly and silently up the steps, a figure came into view, backlighted by the firelight in the background. Po breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. It was Tigress, with Viper curled about one arm.

"Tigress!" He cried out in relief, drawing the other master's attention to him. "You made it!"

Tigress slowed her pace, a worried look still creasing her features as she looked at the snake on her arm. As Po drew closer, he saw that Viper's eyes were closed and concern welled up inside him.

"Is she alright?" He asked.

"I think so." Tigress replied hesitantly. "She's still breathing, and Traveller said she was just unconscious but…"

"Traveller!" Po remembered, having forgotten the other warrior in his joy to see Tigress again. "Where is he?"

Tigress shook her head.

"I don't know. When we rescued Viper, the Skaal ambushed us. He drew them away with his horn, I haven't seen him since."

"Is that what that was?" Crane interjected. "We heard it up here too. It made everyone attacking us just… leave."

"So they're all going after Traveller?" Po wondered.

"He can take care of himself." Tigress muttered, not sure if she was trying to convince them, or herself. She was worried about the ancient warrior. He had, after all, saved Viper and even herself down there. She hoped he was alright.

She was cut off from her train of thought as, for the first time, Po noticed her wound.

"You're bleeding!"

Startled, Tigress looked down to see that the lower half of her shirt had been stained with a darker red. She had completely forgotten about the wound in her fear for her friend.

"I'm fine, Po." She gestured to the ring of fang marks around the panda's leg. "You're hurt too."

"Yeah but-"

Tigress walked past Po, heading back to the palace.

"Traveller said she should wake among friends." Tigress explained. "I can't leave her now."

They all knew how seriously Tigress took her role as leader, and Po knew that she would not be dissuaded. Part of him wanted to head back into the palace now, but he had taken on a job, and he couldn't abandon it. Regardless, Traveller was still out there.

"Maybe you should take her to the healers anyway." He called out to her. "Just to make sure she's alright."

Tigress did not answer, but he hoped his message had struck home with her. And he knew some of the goats that made up the local healers. If they saw her wounded in their vicinity, she would get treated, come hell or high water.

* * *

The flames in the distance had begun to die down, their fury spent by the time Monkey came to join Po and Crane outside the palace. The wounds on his chest had been bandaged, and he seemed to have regained much of his former agility, though he still favoured his right arm slightly.

Now that the fires were dying, it was getting darker again. The moon and starlight were still overpowered by the ebbing flames, so there was little light or comfort to come from there. Po found himself constantly checking the area around them, expecting to see a Skaal in every shadow, waiting to pounce.

Monkey nudged the panda, drawing his attention away from his fretful staring.

"Look."

The Dragon Warrior followed his friend's finger and, near the top of the cliffside, he saw a shadow move. It was barely visible, he could only make it out because it was a darker shade than the natural blackness surrounding it. It was slinking forward slowly across the ground, approaching their position menacingly.

Po rose, as did his companions, and gestured to the other two to fan out around him while he approached the shadow cautiously. Whatever it was, it made no change in it's course or speed as they approached it.

"Alright Skaal, I don't know what you're doing down there, but you're going to regret it." Po called out, raising his fists.

At the panda's voice, the shadow stopped suddenly. Arm-like appendages appeared to materialize at it's front… or the side facing them anyways. They lifted, the dark blob seeming to shiver and pull at itself, then it pulled part of the darkness back to reveal…

Short, wiry fur atop a head that craned it's neck upwards to look at the gathering masters with ancient eyes.

Well, one ancient eye, anyway.

The group winced in unison at Traveller's face. At first, Po thought that the right half of the master's face had been utterly destroyed, but on closer inspection, he realized that the skin of his forehead had been all but torn off, and was clinging to that side like a second skin. Welts and bruises covered the other side of his face, and the pinkish skin was stained red from blood.

"Traveller!" Po cried, kneeling down beside the figure. Now that he was closer, he could tell that the shadow had just been Traveller's cloak covering him as he crawled, providing almost perfect camouflage in the night.

Traveller licked cracked and bloody lips and croaked out,

"Ti…gress?"

"She made it back safely with Viper." Po reassured him. "What happened?"

Traveller managed a small smile.

"Good… news! The distrac... distraction worked."

Then his eye rolled up and his head thudded into the ground before them.

"Oh no, come on Traveller!" Po rolled over the prone man, wincing again at the extent of the wounds revealed now that Traveller was on his back.

The metal carapace of armour had been shredded, large flaps of it peeled back like the skin of an orange. Underneath, Traveller's flesh was torn apart, blood staining his skin and cloak.

"We need to get him inside!"

Po lifted the Eldar gently, holding the limp, bloodstained body close to his chest. He took in the concerned expressions of his friends, then turned and hurried as quickly as his wounded leg would allow, pushing open the gates of the Jade Palace and making his way through the civilians who were mostly sleeping on bed mats out in the open sky. Those few who were still awake watched him with concern, wondering at the black bundle in his arms.

Po burst into the area that had been turned into a makeshift hospice, where a few goats and pigs tended to sick villagers, and had previously treated the wounds of the masters. Tigress was still there, sitting on a short stool by a simple hospice bed not dissimilar to the bed Po himself slept on. On this particular bed, Viper was lying her eyes still closed as Tigress watched over her, cloth wrapped around her torso to cover her wound.

As Po passed, Tigress looked up, her eyes widening in shock at Traveller's wounds. She mentally retreated as Po called for the few healers to come look at the man, and people began to gather around the panda, laying the Eldar on a bed.

 _That horn blast… He called_ all _of the Skaal to him, didn't he? So that Viper and I could escape._

"Hey."

The word broke Tigress out of her reverie, and she looked up to see Po looking down at her, healers fussing in the background.

"You alright?" He asked softly.

Tigress's gaze fell to Viper.

"She still hasn't woken up." She replied quietly.

"I know."

Tigress then looked to the other side of the room, where most of the healers had gathered around Traveller.

"Is he…"

"I don't know." Po scratched the back of his head worriedly. "He's tough but…"

Po left the rest of the sentence unsaid, Tigress understood it regardless.

 _I'm surprised he's still alive._

Po stood awkwardly there for a few moments, then said.

"I… should probably get back out there. Traveller left a bit of a mess when he came back."

Tigress did not answer, and Po left soon after that.

The tiger master was left with her thoughts and fears. They clamoured all about her, seeking to shatter the shell of tranquility that the master was desperately trying to maintain. Viper unconscious, Traveller wounded and fear rising among her friends. And there was so little she could do to help them. She hated this feeling of helplessness.

Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw movement. Drawing herself out of her inner turmoil, she focussed herself on her unconscious friend. She had thought she had seen…

Viper's eyes snapped open and her head shot up, looking around blearily.

"What? Where-"

Tigress put a paw on Viper's head, gently pressing her back down to the cot.

"You're in the Jade Palace, Viper."

"The… Jade Palace?" Viper questioned. "But we were…"

Tigress could think of no way to soften the blow, so she said it directly.

"You were captured during the fighting."

Viper let out a little gasp, and she stared at Tigress with horror-filled eyes.

"Did… Was…"

"Traveller and I came after you." Tigress said firmly, her own eyes hardening. "We rescued you before they could take you far. We stopped them, Viper. You're fine."

The snake looked hard at Tigress for a moment, then relaxed.

"Good. Good. Did we find the boy?"

Tigress nodded.

"Good." Viper closed her eyes for a moment, then asked,

"What about Traveller?"

Tigress hesitated for a moment, then gestured to the other side of the room. Viper followed her her hand with her gaze.

The healers had stripped Traveller of his cloak, and they had seemingly found a way to peel him out of his damaged armour, which lay discarded on the floor below the cot he lay on. They were busy bandaging wounds and applying poultices, but the damage done to the man was still obvious.

"What happened?" Viper breathed, her gaze fixed on the wounded man.

"Traveller and I rescued you… but there were more Skaal coming." Tigress looked away. "He told me to take you away and bring you back to the palace. He drew off the Skiaal, and when he came back…"

Viper finally tore her gaze from the grisly scene across the room and shuddered, her scales making a soft rasping sound as they drew against the rough cot.

"I hate them." She said suddenly, and Tigress looked at her in surprise. It was not often her gentle friend expressed such a harsh sentiment. Viper closed her eyes

"I remember fighting them in the village." She continued. "There was fire everywhere, and they were like the shadows the flames cast brought to life. Then it was… dark. Cold. I could hear screaming like it was from far away." Her lids raised and she shuddered again.

"Then I woke up."

Tigress looked mournfully down at her friend. She wished that the gentle creature hadn't had to experience such a thing. She reached out a paw and gently stroked her friend's head.

"You should get some rest. Real rest this time."

Viper did not answer, but her eyelids began to droop under the soothing ministrations of the tiger, and she lowered her head and closed her eyes.

Tigress waited for a few moments to ensure that her friend was actually asleep. When the even breathing of the snake had convinced her, she stood and left the room. She had a sudden need for fresh air, so she hurried through the corridors in the Jade Palace as best she could around the objects from the village that seemed to be strewn about willy-nilly.

She burst out from the palace and into the arena, slowing herself so that she could more easily navigate maze of sleeping villagers lying on mats all around. She was outside now, but she needed to be away from the Jade Palace even just for a moment.

She quietly made her way around the lumped blankets and mats, noticing that a few of them were still empty. She didn't know who could still be awake this late, though perhaps it wasn't surprising given everything else going on.

A solid pull and the gate was open, swinging inwards and allowing Tigress to slip through. From here, only a dull glow in the distance served as a reminder for the likely destroyed village below. Close by the thousand steps, Po and Mr. Ping stood looking over the village, their necks craned downward slightly to bring in the view.

There were no others in sight, and Tigress approached the two cautiously.

"Look at it." Ping mourned, his shoulders drooping. "Everything's gone."

"Aw, it's not that bad, dad." Po replied, obviously trying to comfort his father, but his words sounded forced to Tigress. "You needed a bigger kitchen anyway."

"But look at it!" Ping cried, raising his wings into the air. "Why did this happen?"

Po shook his head.

"Don't forget we sent word to the Emperor." Po continued, evading his dad's last question. "He can help rebuild the village, better than it was before."

"But I don't want it better, I want it the way it was!"

Po went silent, and Tigress was close enough to hear the quiet, weary sigh from the panda.

"Oh Po, I'm sorry." Ping said after a moment, looking up at his son. "It's just… we've lost everything."

"Not everything, Mr. Ping." Tigress interjected, causing the two to turn to face her in surprise, obviously not having heard her approach. "We still have each other. Together, we can still get through this."

"Yeah!" Po replied with false enthusiasm. "Just you watch, dad. We can still make these guys regret ever messing with us!"

"I hope so." Ping said quietly, turning towards the palace.

They watched Mr Ping sadly waddle away.

Tigress stepped closer to Po, and was about to speak but the Panda beat her to it.

"We have each other for now… but how long will that last?"

"Po…"

"You saw him Tigress! Traveller beat all of us and he got torn to shreds down there!"

"Po!"

"If he was defeated, how can we beat them? What if-"

" _Po!_ "

Tigress grabbed the Dragon Warrior by his shoulders, and turned him so that his panic-stricken face was mere inches from her own, shaking him as she did so.

"We're all going to survive this."

"But-"

Tigress knew she had to stop him from continuing this line of thought. They could not afford him to panic here. But once again, the right words would not come to her. So instead, she acted.

Po was suddenly cut off as Tigress's lips smashed into his in a sudden, violent kiss. His eyes widened in shock for a moment, then they closed and he returned the kiss.

After a few brief moments, Tigress pulled back, staring into the panda's face. There was a slightly dopey look there, replacing the previously panicked features.

But it was too much. Viper's capture, the close calls they'd had down in the valley, the realization of her feelings towards her fellow master, and now she had allowed herself to show a side of her even she hadn't realized existed. She could feel the walls she had erected around herself crumble and, to the utter shock and confusion of Po, she broke down and began crying, her arms no longer holding his shoulders, instead pressed lightly against his chest.

"We have to." She sobbed, her tears wetting the pandas chest fur from where her head was pressed just below his neck. "I can't… I can't lose you again."

Po stood stock-still for a brief moment as Tigress shed her tears onto him, his inner fanboy dying down even as it had jumped for joy when she kissed him. Never in his wildest dreams could he have foreseen this.

He gave a little shake of his head to clear his thoughts, then gently wrapped his arms around the weeping feline, holding her close to him. As long as he had known her, Tigress had stayed strong for them all. Now, he needed to be strong for her, and he would not let her down.

They stood there for a time, and at last the great wracking sobs issuing from the tiger master subsided and she pulled back, looking at Po with bloodshot eyes. The panda gently reached out a hand to cup her cheek, wiping away an errant tear with his thumb as he did so.

"We'll get through this." He said quietly. "Together."

Tigress gave him a small smile, and opened her mouth slightly, but whatever she was going to say was interrupted by a small embarrassed cough.

Tiger and panda alike whipped their heads towards the sound, Po stepping back awkwardly while Tigress curled her lips in a snarl at the disturbance.

Standing a next to the wall of the jade palace, Crane's beak nearly touched the earth it hung so low. At Tigress's enraged face, he quickly shut it and raised his wings in a submissive gesture.

"Uh… I uh…"

"Spit it out Crane." Tigress said, seemingly recovered, letting out a warning growl. Po shuddered, grateful the look Tigress was giving was directed at Crane and not himself.

"Trav… Traveller is awake, he wants to speak with us."

Po's eyes widened in surprise.

"Already? He passed out like half an hour ago!"

Crane shrugged, beginning a little hop-skip towards the gate of the palace.

"I didn't say he was doing well, but as soon as his eyes opened, he asked for us. Come on, we should hear what he has to say."


	9. The Jade Palace Besieged

I do not own Kung Fu Panda or any related characters. However, Traveller, Zarach and the Skaal are **mine**.

* * *

Shifu and the rest of the Five had already gathered around Traveller's cot by the time Crane led Tigress and Po into the larger room that served as a makeshift hospital. Crane hadn't said anything since telling them about Traveller, and had kept his gaze awkwardly away from the other two.

Traveller smiled weakly as they approached. He was heavily bandaged now, most of his head and torso wrapped up in white cloth. Only his mouth and his right eye were visible to the onlookers.

"Well, it looks like everyone's here." Traveller said quietly as Po and Tigress came to a halt in front of him, standing close together, but not quite touching.

"Traveller, are you sure you should be-" Shifu began.

Traveller waved off the master's concern, visibly wincing as he did so and giving a slight smile that didn't quite reach his one visible eye.

"This is not the first fight I've crawled away from." His expression grew serious once more.

"I'm more worried about you. I had intended to face Zarach myself. Unfortunately I am no longer in any condition to do so."

A heavy silence settled over the small room, and the gathered masters looked at each other nervously. It was Crane who first broke the silence.

"So… what do we do?"

Traveller let out a long breath, grimacing and shifting slightly as he did so. Then he spoke.

"I cannot help you in the fight to come, but I will give you what advice I can. Zarach will know that I am… indisposed. If he does not know where I am, he will assume I am either here, or have fled elsewhere in search of aid. In either case, he will now focus everything he has on taking the Palace."

"How long do we have?" Shifu asked.

"I don't know. Part of it depends on how long Zarach is willing to search for me. I'm sure the creature has dreamt of killing me for a long time. The other part depends on whether he will allow his army to rest and recuperate first. He may will decide it is better to strike now, while you are tired and wounded. But in doing so, he leaves his own forces in a similar condition. He will attack no later than dawn though, of this I am certain."

"Then we will be ready for him." The red panda intoned. He turned towards his students. "Crane, Mantis, I want you on watch. If the invaders make any move, I want to know about it."

The two chosen masters bowed in acknowledgement to their teacher.

"As for the rest of you, get some rest while you can. You will need your strength for what is to come." He turned his attention towards Traveller again. But before he could speak, Tigress asked,

"Traveller? Why did the Skaal come after you?"

Traveller closed the one eye still visible to them and replied,

"The Skaal know that call. When I sounded my horn, it broadcast my location to them, giving them an opportunity they couldn't pass up. But more than that, I use that horn to call allies to my side." He opened his eye. "They could not afford to not hit me with everything they had."

"So, you have allies you can call?" Crane asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not. As I said before, I am new to this land. There were none close enough to answer my call. It was a decoy, nothing more."

Tigress didn't know what to say. Traveller had sacrificed himself so that she and Viper could escape with ease. She didn't understand why he would do that when they probably could have made it out together, even with Viper unconscious as she was.

Shifu glanced over at Tigress, his brows knitting as if he recognized her thoughts, then he asked quietly,

"Is there anything else you can tell us?"

Traveller thought for a moment, then said slowly;

"Zarach is the key. If you manage to bring him down, his forces will scatter. Do not face him one-on-one, whatever you do. He will do his best to keep you all apart and overwhelm you with his own skill, and the strength of his forces. If he succeeds, then all is lost."

* * *

"Thanks for helping with the watch, Tigress." Crane yawned, leaning against the outer walls of the palace.

"You needed rest." Tigress replied simply, her gaze focused on the village below. What little of the pre-dawn light that made it through the dark clouds filtered through the haze of smoke and ash that remained from the fire the night before. It was hard to look at what was left of the village. Had there not been so much stonework in it, it would have been completely reduced to ash. As it was, no building was untouched, and most had been reduced to a single wall at best, either from the weight of the flames or deliberate destruction by the Skaal.

"I think we all do." Crane muttered, removing his hat and wiping off residual ash from it. "Did anyone sleep well?"

There was a rustling sound through the grass, signifying the approach of Viper. Tigress cast a worried gaze upon her friend, but she looked well… at least as much so as any of them in their current situation.

"Not really." The snake replied to Crane. "But it's not just that… did anyone else try meditating?"

Tigress nodded.

"Why? What happened?" Crane asked in bewilderment as he returned his hat to it's previous position.

Viper replied upon noticing Tigress's reticence.

"It doesn't work."

"What do you mean, it doesn't work?" Crane asked incredulously.

"It's like…" Viper bobbed her head from side to side, searching for the right words. "It's like something's disrupting it. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find the peace. It just… It felt wrong."

"Maybe it's because you were captured?" Crane suggested tentatively. Tigress shook her head in reply.

"No, I felt it too. I think… I think it's because of the Skaal. It's like their presence is corrupting the Chi around them, and it's _spreading_."

They were all disturbed by the implications of this, and fell silent for a few moments before Crane muttered something under his breath and took off, his wings beating the air rapidly as he gained height and flew over the charred skeleton of the village below on another sweep of the area.

"Have the Skaal made no move?" Viper asked, shivering as a chill wind picked up suddenly, whistling through the grass with an eerie noise.

"Not yet." Tigress replied, eyes narrowing. "What are they waiting for?"

At the sound of the gate opening, the two women turned to see, Shifu and Po emerge from the palace, followed by Mantis. Po hadn't gotten any rest the night before, judging by his stifled yawns and the huge bags under his eyes. As the gate closed behind them, there was a heavy thud like a log falling into place, then Monkey bounded over the wall, staff in hand.

"There, the gate's been barred." He reported.

"Good. That will give us a little extra time then." Shifu responded. Tigress saw that he was tired as well, though he hid it well. it was only because she had known him for so long she was able to notice the few tell-tale signs, his limp slightly more pronounced than usual and his face more drawn.

"Any sign?" Shifu asked, directing his gaze towards Tigress.

"None, master." She replied.

"I see." the older master replied, somehow managing to draw his eyebrows even tighter together, a feat that should not have been possible. "Perhaps… Traveller was wrong?"

"He wasn't wrong about anything else." Mantis pointed out.

"But he did say that Zarach might change his plans since Traveller is here to help." Po countered, rubbing his eyes and seeming to rouse himself.

"Do you think they gave up?" Viper asked, a slightly hopeful note in her voice.

"I would be very much surprised if they did." Shifu replied grimly.

As if on cue, Crane flapped his way back to the masters, landing gracefully in front of them.

"What did you see?" Shifu asked quickly.

"They're coming."

Two little words, and yet they had such an impact on the gathered masters. Po seemed to completely snap out of his exhausted state, while in the faces of the others, brief glimpses of fear could be caught if one was observing close enough before they steeled themselves.

"It looks like they separated their forces." Crane continued with an unusual seriousness. "Most of them are heading to the west side of the palace… I think they're going to try scaling the cliffs again.

"The other group is way smaller, maybe twenty or so, and they're heading straight for the stairs." Crane hesitated for a moment, then continued. "I think… I think Zarach is in that group."

"How long do we have?" Tigress asked sharply.

"At the speed they were moving? Not long."

Shifu hopped up on Oogway's staff, drawing his student's attention to him. He looked to each one of them in turn before he spoke.

"We must keep the invaders as far away from the villagers as possible for as long as we can. If we allow the Skaal to attack us full force, we will be overwhelmed."

"Then, what do we do, master?" Tigress questioned.

"If Zarach is coming directly up the stairs, he will be heading for the gate. I… I will bar his way."

"But master Shifu-"

"You must hold the Skaal climbing the cliffs for as long as possible." Shifu continued, cutting off Po's interruption. "Crane, keep to the skies, and aid as necessary. If the battle goes poorly, for you or me, you must all fall back to the gate. We cannot allow any of them to get through and attack the innocents." He placed his fist in his palm and bowed, his students returning the gesture.

"Remember your training, and we will all come out of this."

Then the red panda leapt down from his perch, grabbing the staff before it fell and dashed away, leaving the others behind. After a moment's hesitation, Crane gestured to the others.

"Come on, we should be able to see the Skaal now."

The masters turned together and followed Crane, Tigress lagging slightly behind the rest. She noticed Po watching her, and as they made eye contact he mouthed, "Together." She gave the tiniest of nods in response, but that seemingly insignificant gesture strengthened her resolve.

She would need it. Upon catching up with her comrades, not far from where they had all started, she witnessed first hand the midnight tide swarming up the cliff-face. She could barely see the rocks below for all the dark-furred figures moving swiftly up the near-sheer walls. There was no stumbling and no hesitation from the Skaal, only speed as they moved in eerie silence.

"That's a lot of guys." Mantis grumbled, raising his claws.

"We hold them off as long as we can." Tigress asserted, re-affirming her role as the leader of the Five. "Crane?"

"Right. Flying."

The avian leapt into the air, winging his way up before diving down into the masses below. He dive-bombed the top ranks of the Skaal, knocking a few of them off their precarious positions on the cliff-face, fouling up others below. Crane swooped up again, but one of the creatures leapt from the cliff-face, reaching out a long arm to grab Crane by on leg. There was a loud squawk and Crane began losing altitude, suddenly bearing far more weight than he had anticipated.

"Tigress!" Viper called, and the tiger instinctively knew what the snake was asking. She lifted her friend into the air, allowing the snake to coil around her arm like a spring. She threw her arm forward, as if in a punch, and Viper sprang off her arm like an arrow from a bow, using both the momentum from the sudden movement and the compression from her coils to catapult herself towards the hapless avian who was currently locked in a very one-sided battle with his unintentional passenger.

Viper smashed into the Skaal from behind, loosening it's grip on Crane and allowing the master to shake it off with a screech. The beast fell through the sky with a wail, eventually passing out of view. Crane landed beside his friends, depositing Viper on the ground next to Mantis.

"Thanks for that." Crane panted, rolling his shoulders. "I'd hate to see what they feed those guys!"

"Here they come." Po warned.

Large, black-furred hands reached over the top of the cliff, and moments later, the Skaal began pulling themselves over to face the valiant defenders. Tigress charged, her friends following directly behind her as they smashed into the enemy lines. They did not give their opponents a chance to get their bearings, attacking before many of them had even fully clambered up. Fighting together with years of training and experience, they made short work of those foes unlucky enough to be on the front lines.

But there were only a few defenders, and they could not keep up with the Skaal's speed and ferocity for long. A few of the beasts made it past them, attacking from their flank. Slowly, the masters were pushed backwards as more and more of their foes gained their feet and hurled themselves at the kung-fu masters. The ground was already littered with Skiyr bodies, but that did not seem to slow the assault of their foes.

"Crane." Tigress ordered, neatly dodging an attack and lashing out with her feet. "Check on Master Shifu. We'll hold them here."

Crane gave a quick nod, then lifted himself into the air, narrowly avoiding being grabbed again as he winged his way to the other side of the palace. The remaining masters quickly formed a huddle, pressing their backs against each other as more of the Skaal pressed in.

It seemed like hours of fighting before Crane returned, swooping down just low enough to skim over the midnight-furred abominations, lashing out with his long legs as he did so. This time he was careful not to let them grab him, and he swooped back up without incident.

"Guys! Shifu isn't doing so well, I don't think he can hang on much longer!"

Tigress smashed into a Skaal's face with her fist, causing it's neck to fold in on itself as it staggered back.

"Fall back, we've done all we can here." She ordered the others. "We'll hold them off at the gate!"

Tigress knocked back the closest foe to her, then leapt backwards, giving herself enough room to fall back. Her companions seamlessly disengaged themselves from their own opponents and joined her in racing around the walls of the palace, the invaders hot on their heels.

Turning the corner to the front of the palace, they were just in time to see Shifu smash into the gate and tumble awkwardly towards the ground. He managed to land on his feet, albeit clumsily, and had just enough time to get out of the way of Zarach's blade which scored a deep gash into the wood of the gate.

Upon seeing her master in danger, Tigress leapt immediately into the air, extending a leg into a brutal kick as she hurtled towards the Skaal king. She impacted right into Ziringol's chest as he turned towards her, the impact causing a small shockwave and sending him skidding backwards, almost to the tops of the stairs where his entourage waited.

Regaining his foothold, he stood erect once more, leering at the masters who had gathered around Shifu. More Skaal poured in from the sides of the palace, stopping upon seeing their leader.

"Are you alright Shifu?" Viper asked quietly.

"I'm alright, Viper." Shifu replied, panting heavily as he struggled to stand again. "but I am glad you came when you did."

Tigress let out a menacing growl at Zarach who merely chuckled in response.

"Kill them all."

A roar arose from the Skaal and they attacked with the speed and fury of an unleashed typhoon. Tigress only had time to call out, "Stick together!" before the horde impacted their small formation.

The Skaal fought with much greater determination under the watchful eye of their leader. Some even attempted to scale the walls, but they were unable to get a grip on the smooth stone, and could not leap high enough to reach the tops of the walls, if only just. So they turned their attention back to the defenders, who were fighting fiercely in spite of the onslaught.

Po jumped swiftly backwards, causing two foes that had been charging him from opposite angles to scrabble madly at the dirt beneath their claws in order to avoid colliding with each other, But as the panda landed, he settled too much weight on his wounded leg, causing him to collapse with a small cry. The Skaal, sensing an opportunity, swiftly untangled themselves and advanced on Po, who pulled himself backwards until his back was pressing against the wall. His eyes filled with fear as he cast about desperately for anything to deter his approaching foes.

One of the beasts gathered up it's legs behind it, preparing to leap at the fallen panda. Even as it's muscles contracted and it began to rise into the air, a small boulder, easily the size of the creature's head dropped from the sky onto the beast's neck, violently dragging the beast back down to earth. Po looked up in confusion, grateful yet confused as to where the rock had come from. The sight that met his eyes was not one he ever could have expected.

"Leave my son alone!" Mr. Ping squawked, his wings flapping violently and his altitude rising swiftly now that the boulder was no longer dragging him down. The other Skaal that had been advancing on Po snapped up at the goose. Though it was nowhere near him, Mr. Ping gave out an awkward squawk and dove behind the walls of the palace.

Which lead to Po's next surprise.

As if conjured by magic, the villagers appeared, lining the wall. Within moments they began to fill the air with projectiles. stones, vases, urns, anything they could lift flew from their hands and down into the beasts below. Po even saw some of the younger ones running back and forth along the wall, bringing more stones to the adults, and a few of the older ones were armed with short bows from the armory. While their aim was unsteady, their projectiles thudded into the black-furred invaders more often than not.

"Get back beasts!"

"Leave us alone!"

"Keep away from our masters!"

The invaders flinched and shrank back at this unexpected barrage, allowing the masters to regroup near the gate. Po let out a sharp hiss as he stood, despite the obvious message his leg was sending him that it would very much like to be sitting down.

"Are you alright, Po?" Tigress asked between pants. Turning his attention to his friends, the panda quickly realized that not one of them was without wounds, though none of them appeared too major. Even Mantis's carapace was battered and scratched. The panda waved off Tigress's concern.

"I'll be alright." He replied, gasping for air. He turned his head towards the Skaal, watching them mill about in confusion.

"These guys sure put up a fight, don't they?" Mantis asked grimly, cleaning one of his antennae with his claws as he spoke.

"It's not over yet." Tigress said grimly, inspecting the various cuts and scratches around her arms. "At least we have a moment to rest."

"Not that I'm complaining, but why did they decide to join in?" Monkey asked, looking up to the wall where the villagers were still hurling projectiles and insults in equal measure.

There was no oppourtunity for anyone to answer Monkey's question however, as their enemies suddenly launched themselves at the masters once again. There was no warning, one moment the beasts were still milling about, the next, they were upon the masters. Po and his comrades barely had enough time to get their guard up before the living wave crashed into them.

Po did his best to ignore his wounds, assaulting the invaders with all the strength he could muster. He fought alongside his companions, and so in sync were they that not a word needed to be spoken, as they fought as a cohesive unit. With the continued aid from the walls, they were slowing pushing the assault back.

And then Zarach appeared. The Skaal king materialized from the black mass before them, swinging his blade in a wide arc with such speed that Po barely managed to evade the blow, though the tip of the weapon clipped his shoulder as it passed. But even as the weapon swung, Zarach was moving with incredible speed into the master's formation.

Caught off guard by his sudden strike, the Furious Five focused themselves at their foe, only to have him evade their attacks with a grace that made them look clumsy. The next moment, he was gone, falling back behind his own forces. He had only been among them for a few seconds, and yet each of them sported a new wound from his sudden attack. Worse, he had opened up opportunities for the enemy horde, opportunities that they did not fail to grasp.

With a roar, the invaders renewed their assault, smashing themselves full force into the masters. Between the distraction provided by Zarach and the rejuvenated fury of their attackers, the masters found themselves being separated again, pulled apart by the sheer wave of bodies.

Po did his best to fight his way out of the Skaal encircling him, but it had been a long few days, and his wounds were beginning to wear on him. It was all he could do to fend off those attacking him, and he quickly gave up on all thought of trying anything else.

Desperately fighting the enemies around him, Po's concentration nearly broke, hearing a screech from across the battlefield. He barely managed to evade a Skaal's claw swipe, but then grabbed his attacker by the arm and pulled it towards him, smashing into the creatures chest with his other fist as he let go. The beast squealed as it flew back into the others attacking the panda. As he fought off other attackers who quickly swarmed in to take the place of the fallen, he managed to get glimpses of the battlefield as he fought.

To his horror, he quickly realized that the screech had emanated from Monkey, who was locked in hand-to-hand combat with Zarach, not far from where Po was. The agile master was assaulting the Skaal leader with incredibly fast strikes from his staff, but very few of his attacks hit. Zarach did not attack Monkey, merely pressing towards the master while deflecting the strikes from monkey's light staff.

Monkey let out another screech, then hopped atop his staff and leapt into the air, intending to get away from his opponent. It was then, that Zarach struck. He lashed out with a clawed hand, latching onto Monkey's tail before he could get away. he pulled the master back viciously, jerking a cry of pain from the master as Zarach began to whirl him above his head.

"Monkey!" Po cried out as he attempted to break free of the Skaal surrounding him.

Then, the Skaal leader released the master sending him hurtling away, and straight into the wall. There was a sickening crunch as Monkey impacted head-first, then slid limply down the wall to slump against the ground.

That was the last Po saw of his friend, for the Skaal around him attempted a new tactic, leaping upon him and bearing him down to the ground, covered in a mass of black fur. But repurposing his weight to give himself an advantage was Po's specialty. In a single swift motion, he pulled himself over, suddenly shifting the scales so that he was on top of the massed beasts who screeched and spat at the sudden weight put upon them. He used the momentum to haul himself back up, stomping down on the prone Skaal before they had a chance to rise.

* * *

Author's note: Sorry to leave you guys with a cliffhanger, but that's how this chapter panned out. We are nearing the end, just a couple more chapters to go now. See you Monday!


	10. Kill or Be Killed

This chapter went far different than what I had originally intended. I just kinda sat down and started, then all of a sudden the story was practically writing itself. I love it when that happens, when the characters already know what they're doing and the words just flow from your hands. Enough babbling from me, read on and enjoy!

I do not own Kung Fu Panda or any associated characters. However, Traveller, Zarach and the Skaal are **mine**.

* * *

Knocking another Skaal down, Po managed another glimpse of the battlefield around him. Even with the supporting fire they now had from the villagers, each of the masters was hard-pressed to hold their own. Despite how many of their foes they had taken out, there were still so many of them, and they were not making it easy on his companions.

It was then that he noticed Zarach approaching Tigress. The Skaal king was moving slowly, watching the tiger master's fluid motions as she took on three Skaal simultaneously. Tigress was concentrating on the fight before her, and couldn't see Zarach approach from behind. Sudden dread welled up in the panda's heart.

"Tigress!" He called out, more than a little desperately, narrowly dodging a Skaal talon as he did so. He countered with a heavy punch that caused his assailant to stumble backwards, allowing the Dragon Warrior to see if his warning had done any good.

Apparently not. Tigress was still focussed on fighting the Skaal before her, and they were actually beginning to drive her backwards into Zarach's waiting arms. She was obviously beginning to tire, she was leaving more openings for her opponents and her movements were less fluid.

Po knew he had to do something. If Zarach attacked Tigress while she was unaware… he didn't even want to think about the result. Steeling himself, he feinted an attack at one of his own opponents, then charged, barreling through the Skaal towards Tigress. A few of them got in hits as he passed, shredding his left side and one talon digging so far into his shoulder as to scrape against bone, but Po barely felt it. All his attention was focussed on reaching Tigress before the Skaal king.

He slammed his way through the massing enemies, using his natural weight to propel himself forwards. As he approached his target however, Zarach was already raising his blade to strike Tigress's from behind.

Po had to make a split-second decision. He let loose a wild cry, hoping to throw Zarach off guard, then leapt through the air towards Tigress, praying he would knock her out of the way before that deadly blow landed.

Time seemed to slow as he stretched himself through the air, his paws reaching out towards the tiger master. They impacted with her side, and the sudden heavy weight immediately began to throw her to the ground. His senses suddenly seemed superhuman, he felt the wind rushing through his fur permeate his body, heard the screeching sounds of battle from all around-

And then the blade fell. Tigress was falling and Po had all but created a living shield for his companion, so instead of hitting Tigress, the blow fell upon him. The heavy blade cut deep into his back, passing through flesh and muscle as if it were naught more than paper. Even as the weapon sliced his spine in half, it barely paused in it's downwards motion.

Po let out a scream of pain, his legs suddenly flopping uselessly behind him. He seemed to be suspended in mid-air for a moment, then he crashed into the ground on his side, cradling Tigress close to him in a fetal position.

* * *

One moment, Tigress had been fighting for her life against three opponents, the next she was lying on her side on the ground, Po's arms wrapped loosely around her chest as he cried out in pain. Several wounds serrating her body screamed their disapproval of the sudden position change, but she ignored them, pushing the panda's limp arms aside and standing shakily.

The first thing she saw was Zarach, the Skaal chuckling darkly in apparent amusement as he rested his red-stained blade on his shoulder. The tiger master's eyes widened in horror as she processed the damage done to the panda in front of her.

 _He took the hit… for me._

More Skaal gathered around the motionless tiger, but Zarach barked something she didn't understand at them and they rushed away. It was only because of her years of training that she noticed any of this, she hadn't yet taken her eyes off the whimpering panda.

"Don't you see?" Zarach jeered, running a finger down the flat end of his weapon, the digit soaking up part of the panda's blood from where it stained the blade.

"The order of your death is of no consequence." The creature carried on, as Tigress's hands slowly curled into fists. "His _heroics_ have changed nothing. This farce of a battle is over, tiger."

Tigress barely heard Zarach's gloating. Her vision was going red and hazy, and she felt something building up inside of her, welling up in her chest and pushing upwards threatening to burst out from her. And suddenly, she couldn't think of a single reason to hold it back.

A roar tore itself from her throat, a massive burst of sound that echoed throughout the valley and shook the very trees around them. It was a roar of pain and rage, a purity of emotion that had not been heard in this valley for centuries. She turned towards Zarach and leapt, only a single word reverberating in her mind.

 _Kill._

As she viciously attacked the Skaal leader, she gave no thought to her own defence. She cared not for the claws that shredded through fur and flesh, nor the blade that quickly added her own blood to stain it's surface. Not once did she attempt to evade or avoid these attacks, her entire being focussed solely on an all-out assault, battering Zarach with everything at her disposal.

And… it was working.

The blows on Tigress became less and less frequent, Zarach putting more effort into defending himself against the snarling, spitting feline that assaulted him. He was forced back, first one step, then a second, then a third.

But the Skaal king was not yet finished. He swung his blade directly at the tiger's head, taking advantage of the tiger's dispassion for her own defence. Had the blade impacted as he had desired to, the fight would have been over.

Fortunately for Tigress, even as he swung his weapon she impacted her fist into his chest with rage-fuelled strength, the impact throwing Zarach off balance. So instead of decapitating the tiger, the very tip of the blade scraped across her forehead, causing a sudden torrent of blood, blinding the tiger in her left eye.

It was at this point some semblance of rationality rose above the all-consuming rage that frothed in Tigress's mind. She needed to get that weapon away from Zarach. She lashed out with one hand, then feinted as her opponent prepared to deflect it, grabbing the Skaal's forearm just below the hand and pressing her fingers against the pressure points in the beast's hand, causing the fingers to splay and the sword to fall from his grasp.

Zarach hissed in pain and rage, then twisted his arm, freeing it from the tiger's grip, then grabbed both of the master's hands with his own, curving his fingers so his talons locked into her flesh and pushed against her. Tigress snarled and pushed back, positioning her feet below her to steady herself.

But despite her strength, both natural and rage-given, Zarach was stronger. He began pushing her back, his claws sinking through flesh and into bone. While she felt no pain in her state of total rage, somewhere at the back of her mind she knew she was losing.

So she changed the game.

She pulled Zarach forward in a sharp, sudden movement, using the Skaal's own momentum against him. As he skidded closer to her, she craned her neck backwards, then slammed her head forwards, crashing into Zarach's forehead. The motion stunned him, only for a second, but it was enough.

As soon as she felt the grip loosen, she tore her hands away from Zarach's grasp, then punched him directly in his chest. Once. Twice. Before he could recover, she whipped out a roundhouse kick to his stomach, moving with blinding speed. This final attack sent him stumbling backward. In a single, fluid motion, Tigress leapt into the air, smashing into the creature and bearing him to the ground. The Skaal king hit the dirt with a heavy thud with Tigress kneeling on him, one knee pressing his chest into the ground and one hand pinning one of his arms to the ground while the other was raised in a fist above Zarach's head.

Zarach let out a hiss as his long neck shot towards Tigress, his mouth widening to reveal serrated fangs. Tigress smacked his head back to the ground, then snarled as she brought the fist down on his head with all the force she could muster.

Before she impacted on the Skaal's skull, there was a bright flash that momentarily blinded the tiger, and the sudden stench of sulphur. The body beneath her suddenly disappeared, and without it's support, she thudded into the dirt at the same time her fist impacted the ground where Zarach's head had been.

As she tried to blink away the sudden light, her anger replaced with sudden confusion, she heard a mounting, mournful wail coming from all around. As she looked around, trying to regain her bearings, she saw the remaining Skaal with their heads raised to the sky, their throats releasing the cry that now reverberated around them. Before she could get to her feet, they too began to disappear with same flashes, causing the stench of sulphur to rise momentarily to an insurmountable level, then fade as swiftly as it came. Within moments, the area was empty barring the wounded and confused masters, and the corpses of the fallen.

There was no cheering from the walls, or the other masters. A deathly silence had fallen around the battlefield. Tigress paid no heed to this, and turned back to where Po lay. With Zarach gone, her rage was ebbing, and her focus shifted again to the wounded panda. As she turned, the other masters saw the extent of her wounds, and were frozen in shock.

Her clothes had been ripped almost beyond recognition, what was left with her shirt stained with a darker red. There was no orange left on the tiger's body. Much of her fur had been torn off during the savage fight, revealing gashed and bloodied flesh. What fur remained was compleatly stained red, with splashes and splatters of black blood from the Skiyr. Her body was covered in lacerations, and half of her face was covered in blood from the cut on her forehead, the blood already hardening into a crust in the cool air.

She gave no sign of noticing any of this, and instead stumbled over to Po, falling to her knees beside the prone panda. While grief was a part of her gesture, much of it was due to the fact that she was already losing the strength to stand.

"Po…" she mourned quietly, placing a hand gently on his shoulder.

At her voice and her touch, the panda opened eyes that had fallen shut in his effort to ignore the pain. He whispered to her,

"I can't feel my legs." The words escaped him almost in a whimper.

She didn't know what to say. Looking at the wound, it was quickly apparent that he would never be able to use his legs again. And if he couldn't use his legs…

She vaguely noticed the other masters gathering silently around her. She could not focus on anything beyond the fallen panda however, as keeping herself centered on even him was difficult. The pain wasn't as bad as it likely should have been, she mostly just felt… tired.

She paid no heed to the creaking sound of opening gates, and thus did not see Traveller appear through them, walking slowly with the help of a cane and flanked by two adult rabbits who attempted to support him as he treaded carefully through the battlefield. She only noticed his presence when he finally spoke.

"You did it." He breathed, wonder and some other emotion she could not identify in his voice.

"Traveller!" Shifu called out behind her. "What happened? The Skaal just... _vanished_."

There was silence for a moment, then Traveller said quietly,

"They are not of this world, and are not bound to the mortal coil such as you or I. When Zarach realized he was defeated, he released his mortal form. The rest of the Skaal draw their power from him, so when he faded, so did they."

"So, is Zarach... still alive then?" Crane asked worriedly.

"In a sense. He still exists certainly. But it will be a long time before he can gather the strength to re-form himself. And he will not return here, of that I can assure you."

As they spoke, Tigress felt the brush of dry scales at her side, and one bloody paw reached down to cup Viper's head.

"Tigress…" The fear and worry in the snake's voice was evident. Tigress felt her turn under her paw.

"We need to do something! Tigress fought off Zarach by herself, can we not-"

Viper's voice suddenly fell away, and Tigress could feel the intensity of a gaze at her back. She instinctively knew the feeling came from Traveller.

"You… defeated Zarach on your own?" Disbelief filled his voice.

Tigress did not answer, instead removing her paw from Viper to press it into Po's fur. Small damp spots were beginning to appear in his fur. She realized that it had started to rain.

After a thoughtful silence, Traveller spoke again.

"To hell with the oath. It has been a long time since I have met anyone so worthy. If the others don't like it, they can fire me."

Soft footfalls sent reverberations through the quickly softening mud, and then Traveller was standing beside her. Tigress looked up, noting a grave look on what was visible of the man's still heavily-bandaged face. One arm was extended, and from that hand dangled a silver tear-shaped pendant on a long chain.

"Can you help him?" She asked Traveller, almost pleading. He hesitated for a moment, then said,

"Your wounds are much more severe, Tigress."

"Please."

He seemed to understand what she was trying to say, and after just a brief hesitation, he nodded and held the pendant closer to Po. Before Tigress could ask what he was doing, a soft, green light began to emanate from the pendant, enveloping the panda in a warm embrace. The tiger master heard a sharp gasp from beside her, probably from Viper. Her own eyes were wide and awestruck at this unexpected display of power.

As she watched, Po's wounds began to close, flesh, sinew and finally skin knitting back together to leave silver, slightly raised scars. The massive cut in his back took longer, and as the light illuminated it, she could see the severed bone re-attaching, soon to be covered again by unbroken flesh until the great wound was closed, and no more than another silvery scar.

As the light faded, Po groaned again, opening his eyes.

"... What was that?"

"A gift." Traveller replied simply, turning his attention to Tigress while Po looked down at his feet hesitantly, and wiggled his toes. The look of wonder on his face was truly a sight to behold.

But Tigress could focus no longer on him, for the green glow suddenly enveloped her. It covered her with a warm feeling, as if she was wearing a thick, fuzzy blanket. The pain she felt slowly faded, though her exhaustion did not ebb.

The glow lasted only a few moments, and after it dissipated, it left Tigress even more drained than before. She hesitantly raised a paw to her face, wiping away the blood that blocked her vision on the left side. Her fingers brushed against where the wound had been, but instead of wetness, there she found only hard, strangely cool scar tissue.

Despite onrush of weariness, Tigress attempted to rise, though she was forced to accept Crane's proffered wing to do so. As she stood upright, she heard Mantis's voice calling from behind.

"Hey! Come over here, Monkey's hurt!"

Traveller immediately began to hobble as fast as he could towards Mantis's voice, followed and supported by the other masters. Tigress remained behind for a moment, giving a paw to Po and helping him up. In her weakened state, she wasn't as much help as she would have liked, but between the two of them, Po was quickly standing again.

When the panda was on his feet, the two locked eyes for a brief moment, each finding the relief they felt mirrored in the other's eyes. But it only lasted for a moment, before worry creased Po's brow as he processed what Mantis had said. He was momentarily angry at himself for forgetting about his friend during the heat of battle.

"Come on, let's go." He urged.

Unfortunately, it turned out that neither of them had the strength to walk alone, so they finally settled on leaning on each other as they slowly made their way through the mud, and towards where the others had already gathered around Monkey.

As they closed in, they saw Monkey still slumped up against the wall of the palace, his fur now wet from the increasing rain. Traveller raised the pendant again, and the green light covered their friend's body, causing both Tigress and Po to breath a sigh of relief at the sight.

When the light faded however, Traveller's head lowered, then shook slowly from side to side. He then turned to the others.

"I am sorry." He said quietly, his voice tinged with weariness. "He is already gone."

"What?" Po cried out. "No, no he can't be! You've got the green… thing. Help him!"

"I cannot bring back the dead." Traveller replied softly. "If I could do so, I would. But there is nothing I can do."

Po let out a wail at this, falling to the his knees and unintentionally taking Tigress with him. She did not resist however, her own eyes filling with grief and the masters around her bowed their heads in sorrow for their fallen companion.

* * *

So, there you have it, the climax of the story. I'm very thankful to everyone who stayed with me this far on this little adventure of mine. There will still be an epiogue, and I will try to get it up on thursday, but this week is going to be... hectic for me in the very least, and to be perfectly honest, the epilogue needs a bit of work. So I will be making one more update to this story, but I'm not 100% certain of when it'll be. Thanks for understanding.


	11. Epilogue

My apologies for uploading this late, I've just completed a very unnecessarily complicated move, and we finally got the internet working again. Thank you for your patience.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda or any associated characters. However, Traveller, Zarach and the Skaal are **mine**.

* * *

Wind brushed past Tigress's battered body as she leaned slightly on the Peach Tree of Heavenly Wisdom. She stared out over to the horizon, where the sun was just beginning to peek into view, sending sending shafts of light through a cloudless sky.

It was hard to believe it had already been an entire day since their final battle against the Skaal, though she had been unconscious for most of it. Though her wounds were healed, the physical and emotional drain on her body had overcome her, something that disturbed the tiger. She was unused to not being in utter control of her body.

When she had had moments of coherency and consciousness, she had been vaguely aware of what was going on around her. Despite the threat being gone, there was little reason to bring the villagers back to the charred remains of their home, at least for now. Everyone was still in shock from the vicious battles that had come so close to ending everything for them.

At least they had all been busy, something Tigress would have been much more jealous of had she the energy. No one wanted to take the time to consider what almost was, and the horror of the Skaal would not detach itself from the minds of the people for a long time.

She resisted the urge to scratch at the bandages that covered her body. She had lost a lot of fur when fighting Zarach, and some of the healers had made a poultice that was supposed to quicken it's regrowth. It was barely a concern in Tigress's mind, but she had allowed the healers to fuss over her this once.

She was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of footsteps on the stairs behind her, and the tapping of wood against rock. It was Traveller. The ancient warrior had for some reason, refused to use the pendant which restored Tigress and Po. He had outright ignored any questioning as to why.

The Eldar pulled up beside her and followed her gaze out into the horizon, not saying a word, simply standing there in companionable silence. At last, he spoke up,

"You feel guilty."

It was not a question. Tigress shot a sidelong look at her companion, who had not turned to her. What little of his expression was visible, she could not read. She hesitated for a few moments, then let out the smallest of nods.

"I wasn't strong enough. If I had done better, Monkey wouldn't have-"

Traveller cut her off with a violent hand motion, finally turning to face the tiger, piercing her with his one visible eye.

"Oh, no. You don't get to beat yourself up about that. You faced down Zarach. Do you have any idea how many people have done that? Zarach is the most dangerous man I have ever met, and you defeated him. Not only that, but every single villager under your protection made it out safely."

He was silent for a moment, then said quietly,

"I know it doesn't help with the pain. I've lost enough friends to know it will never be enough." His eyes narrowed. "I've never agreed with most of the things people say to console the bereaved. Most of them are just meaningless platitudes. But there is one thing I can offer you; the only way to honour the dead, is to **live**." He shrugged.

"Take that to mean what you will, but hold to it. You may find it offers more comfort than you may think."

Silence fell between the two again, and it was not long before Tigress heard more people ascending the stairs. Without looking, she knew it was Shifu and the others, coming to give Monkey his last rites.

The two current occupants of the cliff-side stood to the side as Shifu walked slowly in, carrying an ornate urn in his paws. He advanced until he stood at the very edge of the precipice. Unbeknownst to the others, it was the exact same spot where Oogway had passed on what seemed like an eternity ago now. The remainder of the Five and Po spread out around their master, heads bowed in grief. At last, Shifu began to speak.

"We dedicate our lives to seeking completion and fulfilment in understanding the workings of the universe. One day, we will reap the rewards of our efforts, and succumb to the embrace of the cosmos.

"As did those who came before him, Monkey has met this embrace with open arms. His bravery kept hundreds of innocents safe, and he has more than earned the peace within which he now resides."

Shifu opened the lid of the urn, laying it gently before him, then beginning to tip over the urn as he continued speaking.

"As his spirit has already become one with the universe he served, we now release his physical remains to join with him. We will remember you, Monkey, as we hope you will remember us when we join you at last."

As the last word felt Shifu's lips, the contents of the urn began to pour out, and the ashes that Tigress knew was all that remained of their friend fell from the ornate pottery. As they fell, a sudden wind picked up, whipping past them and carrying the ashes away from the masters. As they watched, they saw that the ashes were now interlaced with fresh peach blossoms that seemed to be guiding the ashes away.

Eventually, both ash and blossom had gone from sight, leaving the masters alone with Traveller on the cliff-top. After a few more moments of silence, he began to speak, focussing the attention of the others on himself.

"I came to this place unintentionally. But had I known I would find so worthy people here, I would have come much sooner. It is rare that I find warriors as capable as you are, though I wish I had not needed to be shown this in such a manner."

He paused, and systematically met the eyes of each of the masters before continuing.

"You have defeated one of the greatest darknesses that exists, and in doing so, you have made your home safer than you know. I hope you never have to face such a test again, and I wish I had more to grant you for what you have accomplished here."

Shifu shook his head slowly.

"There is no need. You saved Po and Tigress, and for that I can never thank you enough."

Traveller smiled sadly.

"I am glad I was able to do that much, at least. Still, should we ever meet again, I hope that I am able to show you the extent of my respect and gratitude. But for now, I am afraid I must take my leave."

"What do you mean?" Crane asked.

"You're still hurt, Traveller." Viper added. "You should really stay and rest for a while."

Traveller merely chuckled, leaning his borrowed cane against the tree and standing as straight as he was able.

"Yes, and it is a very long way home. Still, after what has happened here, there is nothing that can stop me from returning to my home."

Traveller placed his fist in his palm and bowed deeply to the masters, who returned the gesture. Then Traveller looked to the sky and smiled, before facing the masters once more.

"May you find all that you need in this world. Farewell, friends."

Before any of the masters could voice their own farewells, Traveller began to rise into the sky, walking on the air as though he was ascending an invisible staircase. Shocked into gaping silence, Tigress and her friends could only watch as the Eldar rose swiftly, soon passing out of view.

Trading incredulous looks with the others, Shifu finally managed to sputter out,

"Who… Who was he?"

Surprisingly, it was Po who answered, the shock of Travellers ability wearing off quicker than the others.

"He was Traveller."

* * *

Well, this is the end of the story. Thank you so much, everyone who read this far. I did not expect to get so many views on my first fanfiction, let alone the followers and favourites. Special thanks of course, to AlienHeart, for leaving a review on every chapter shortly after I uploaded it. I really appreciated your feedback.

As always, I have a lot of other ideas for stories I can put up here, I've even considered doing a sequel to this, but we'll see. I've only got one other story finished right now, that I'll probably put up sometime soon, but it may be a while before I put up anything else. Regardless, thanks again for being here with me, and hopefully I'll get to see you all again in future.


	12. Bonus Chapter

_**Warning, this chapter contains sexual content. Please read the following before continuing onto the story.**_

So, as you may have guessed from the title, this is a **bonus chapter.** As such, it is not essential to read this to understand the story as it officially ended in the epilogue. This chapter is being put up for those of us who wanted so see a *ahem* different climax to the story. If you're not interested in sexual content, or don't want to see these characters portrayed this way, **_do not read this_**. You won't be missing out on much, you can kinda all guess that Tigress and Po are romantically involved now.

If you **are** interested in what I have here, then please read on and enjoy.

I do not own Kung Fu Panda or any associated characters. However, Traveller, Zarach and the Skaal are **mine**.

* * *

Tigress paced back and forth within the confines of her little room, peeling the last remaining bandages off of her arms to reveal the almost-fully recovered fur beneath. It had been three days since Traveller had ascended to the heavens and the tiger was bored.

Much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, She had been practically bedridden for the past few days. even the short distance from the Palace to the Sacred Peach Tree had left her exhausted, and she had fallen asleep on her bed the moment she had returned from the funeral. Sure, she had been weak for a while now, but she was fine now. Standing barely hurt anymore, and she had been pacing back and forth for nearly twenty minutes now, and she didn't even feel the slightest hint of exhaustion. Even her fur had nearly been replaced completely, only close examination could reveal the slightly shorter and lighter patches where she had lost so much

In fact, the only outward reminder of her battle with Zarach were the silvery scars that now crisscrossed her body. She stared down at her arms, tracing the intricate webs of scar tissue with her eyes. though at a touch they seemed no different than regular scars, they looked almost metallic, as if they were made of actual silver.

An image suddenly flashed in her mind of the scars around Zarach's head, and she shuddered at the realization that, other than their pattern, the scars looked exactly the same as the ones on the hated figures head. Glad though she was that he was gone, she wished she could have crushed her head beneath her paws like an over-ripe melon. Maybe then he would stop haunting her nightmares.

She shook her head in an attempt to clear it and re-focused on why she was upset. It actually took her a moment of consideration to remember what it was exactly.

Right. Shifu and the remainder of the five had gone back down to the remnants of their village with the villagers to work on rebuilding, as they had for the past few days. despite the fact that she was now upright, they had insisted that both she and Po remained back in the palace. It was unfair, even the elderly had gone back down to the village to aid in the reconstruction, and some of them couldn't walk without using a cane! Between her and Po, they could…

Po. She stopped in her pacing as she remembered the panda. She had barely been conscious the last few days, and hadn't had time to really talk to him since…

Since she had kissed him outside the Jade palace. Her heart picked up slightly As she remembered pressing her lips roughly against his own, partly to get him to shut up, but also partly because… because…

Because she had wanted to. It felt good to finally be able to admit that to herself. She had wanted to kiss Po and now, now she wanted to see him again. If she concentrated she could hear muffled sounds coming from his room, probably him talking to himself again.

Her mind made up, she quietly let herself out of the room and made her way up the hallway, stopping just before opening the sliding door to Po's room, listening in to the panda's one-sided conversation through the thin walls.

"-and then… and then…" the panda paused for a moment, and she could picture him tapping his fingers together nervously. "And then she kissed me."

Tigress's eyes widened as she realized he had been thinking about the same thing she was, her heart rate inexplicably increasing with this knowledge.

"She kissed me! And it was the most awesome thing ever! But…" And suddenly the panda's excited tone fell, and tigress strained her ears to make out what he was saying.

"But she just did it to… to distract me right? I mean I was panicking over there and… She doesn't really feel like… She doesn't like me like that, right? I mean, she's Tigress! And I'm… I'm…"

Tigress decided she had heard enough and opened the sliding door without warning. The panda let out a surprised yelp upon seeing the tiger suddenly standing in his doorway.

"Tigress! I, uh, I wasn't… Did you hear…?"

Tigress folded her arms under her chest and just looked at Po, a ghost of a smile hovering around her lips.

"You… heard everything didn't you?"

She inclined her head slightly in the affirmative. Po gave deep sigh. And looked down at the floor.

Slightly confused at his dejected expression, Tigress clamped down hard at the sudden welling of fear that rose within her and took a step towards the panda.

"Po?"

The panda sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed, still not quite managing to meet the tiger master's eyes.

"So…" he began hesitantly, "If.. if you heard all that, then, what…"

She knew what he was trying to say. She hesitated for a moment, then sat herself beside the Dragon Warrior, eliciting a startled look from him. She felt torn, becoming increasingly uncomfortable at being in a situation in which she had no experience. At the same time, she was acutely aware of his large, warm, plush body beside her. They had sat side-by-side before of course, but somehow this felt… different.

Finally she began to speak, going slowly as she chose her words carefully.

"Po, If I had only wanted to distract you, I would have hit you instead."

The panda beside her gave a rueful grin and began to open his mouth, but she was not finished. She had to speak before her courage left her. She steeled herself, reminding herself that she was Master Tigress, and would not let a sudden fear of mere emotions get in the way of what she wanted to say.

"I… I kissed you because I wanted to."

There. She had said it. And she was sure that Po's surprised expression mimicked her own. Her tail lashed around behind her and she suddenly felt it hard to keep his gaze. Looked away, as Po said slowly,

"You… wanted to kiss… me?"

She let out a tiny nod, her body becoming rigid and the lashing of her tail only increasing as she fought the urge to run from the room. She had almost succumbed when a strong hand cupped her cheek and lifted her to face into Po's gaze, and the tenderness within the look he gave her made her let out a slight gasp. No-one had ever looked at her that way. No-one except for him.

He gently pulled her face towards his, and their second kiss was the complete opposite of the first, gentle, tender and loving as opposed to desperate and needy. She felt the tension begin to melt out of her body and she leaned into the kiss.

They were not sure how long it was before they broke apart, Tigress barely managing to hold back the unbecoming whine that had threatened to escape her lips while Po panted for air, his eyes unfocused as he gazed at her. As soon as he had regained his breath she was on him again, already craving the warm, tingling sensation that flooded through her body when their lips met. He wrapped his arms around her and the feeling of his strong arms lightly rubbing her back only served to enhance the experience. She began to press him backwards, wanting to get even closer to him as unfamiliar feelings pounded through her body. She continued to push him until he was lying on his back with her on top of her.

Tigreess was unsure as to why the feelings sparking through her body were so addicting. Maybe it was because for most of her life, all she had felt was pain. She had suffered so many beatings and bruisings since Master Shifu had brought her here, and she had believed that destroying the sensation in her arms and legs attacking the ironwood trees around the palace was a good thing. If she could not feel, there would be no pain.

She found herself desperately wishing she had sensation in her limbs once again. As she returned the panda's embrace. He let out a soft squeak into her mouth as she clutched him a little too tightly, and she quickly eased her grip on Po, though she did not let go of him entirely. She wished she could feel his plush fur under her arms, but all she had was…

Pulling back to allow the panda to breath once again, giving a slight smirk as she realized that he had not excelled as much in the lung exercises as he had assured the others. Regardless, this gave her an opportunity. As he gasped for air, she pulled back, disentangling herself from his grasp. Before he could ask her what she was doing, she began swiftly undoing the buttons on her shirt. She pulled the garment out of the way, and reached up behind her, slicing through the bandages that kept her small breasts bound and out of the way in a fight.

She returned her attention to the now dumbstruck panda, and suddenly self-consciousness overtook her. She had never bared herself so to another person and she wasn't sure if his slack-jawed expression meant a positive reaction or not.

'Tigress?" Po asked in a soft voice. "Is this what… is this what you want?"

She didn't know what she wanted. She wasn't sure what was happening to her body. But she needed more. She wanted to experience this. And she could not deny the heat that was pooling between her legs. No, there was one thing that she knew she wanted.

"I want you." She said in barely a whisper, looking deep into Po's eyes.

Po groaned as she said that and hesitantly reached out a paw, cupping tigress's left breast. She hissed slightly at the contact, and then let her eyes roll to the back of her head as he thumbed her nipple. She had thought that nothing could feel better than the kisses they had just been sharing, but she had been wrong. Po, seeing her reaction to his gentle touch, quickly became emboldened and grasped her other breast with his other paw, gently stroking and circling the nipple. Tigress arched her back at the sensation, her head falling back in a wordless cry as she pushed herself into his touch.

She was panting as he removed his paws from her chest, running them up and down her sides and holding her close to him again, pressing her still sensitive buds against his soft chest. She pressed herself into him, but then both of them froze as her most intimate place rubbed against his stiffening manhood. They locked eyes, a silent message passing between them, each confirming in the other's eyes that they wanted to continue, that they wanted each other.

Tigress's excitement was only mounting. She allowed her instincts to take over, shedding the last fabric barriers between them as Po watched intently from below. Her self-consciousness might have resurfaced, had it not been for the love she saw reflected in Po's eyes. She leaned over him again, kissing him deeply as she positioned herself over him. It took a few attempts, but she finally managed to maneuver him inside her.

She tensed up at the foreign sensation. She narrowed her eyes as Po let out a groan beneath her and threw his head back. Something about knowing that she had brought that pleasure to him helped her loosen up despite the discomfort, and she smiled down at him, then nuzzled his neck.

As he began to move, the uncomfortable sensation was quickly replaced with an ecstasy she had never before experienced. She had to pant for air as she shuddered with the unfamiliar feelings. Po's pleasured moaning beneath her brought another wave of pleasure crashing through her. She stared wide-eyed down at the panda, memorizing every detail on his face.

It wasn't long before they hit the peak, each calling out the others name as they did so. As they came crashing back down, Tigress curled up, still lying on top of Po as she closed her eyes, resting her ears against his heartbeat.

Po was mostly silent for a few moments, trying to catch his breath after his unexpected, though not undesireable workout. When he finally caught his breath, he reached his arms around Tigress to hold her closer to him, earning him a pleased murmur from her. Finally, he worked up the courage to ask,

"So, Tigress? Wha, ah… what did this… I mean, are we…?"

There was no answer from the tiger, and Po raised his head slightly, careful not to disturb the woman.

"Tigress?"

From her peaceful features and even breathing, he quickly figured she had fallen asleep. He smiled at that, then stifled a yawn of his own. A nap did sound pretty good right now.

"Never mind." He whispered into her ear. "We can talk about it later."

And he lay his head back against his cot and closed his eyes. Despite everything that had happened, despite the suffering they had gone through, he had her. And nothing was going to change that.


End file.
